Against The Odds
by Aeyla Skywalker
Summary: An extended Aeyla Skywalker story: What if Anakin wasn't Shmi's only son? Luke and Leia discover a secret from their pasts that Obi-Wan had kept hidden for so long, and he discovers that Vader is not who he seems. Many Jedi have survived the Purges, with some help that Kenobi would never have expected and a family is reunited for the first time in eighteen years. Rated T to be safe
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, and welcome to my new story! This is an Aeyla Skywalker story, but probably won't be the series of one-shots that I promised. This is just one of those crazy ideas that I've had in my mind for a very long time, and have finally started to write about.**

**In it, Luke, Leia, Han and Chewie have just arrived in Yavin 4 with Obi-Wan, who was not killed by Vader on the Death Star. Many Jedi have survived, although Obi-Wan doesn't know it, and the young twins lives are about to change forever with a startling revelation about their parents…**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and please leave me some reviews letting me know whether or not you want me to continue with this story line or not.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing :( **

* * *

**Chapter One**

Luke stared around in awe as his wide eyes tried to take in everything at once. Having grown up on a barren desert planet, to finally be off-world was great enough, but to be in an actual Rebel military base was even better.

"Luke!"

The young man was startled out of his dreaming by the sound of a familiar voice calling his name, and he turned round to see his old friend Biggs Darklighter striding towards him with a big grin on his face, along with another young man that Luke didn't recognise.

"Biggs! Told you I'd make it!" He said as the two embraced, laughing.

"That you did, Skywalker." Biggs chuckled. "Well, it wasn't really here we dreamed of going, was it."

Luke smiled slightly. "Seems like a lot of time we wasted dreaming of going to the Imperial Academy now, doesn't it?"

Biggs chuckled, and nodded. "Oh, yeah: Luke, this is Derek Klivian, a friend from the Imperial Academy. Derek, this is Luke Skywalker: a bloody good pilot and friend from back on Tantooine."

Derek smiled. "Nice to finally meet you, Luke," He said, shaking his hand. "I've heard a lot about you."

Luke raised an eyebrow, surprised. "You have?"

"Sure. Mainly old stories of races: from what I hear you're quite a pilot."

"Well he would be, given who his father is." Said a new voice, and Luke spun round to see an aging Tholothian woman behind him, with a much younger one beside her.

"You knew my father?!" Luke asked eagerly, and the aging woman smiled.

"Yes I did. I served beside him during the Clone Wars."

"You're a Jedi?!"

The woman chuckled. "Yes I am."

"Strass?"

Luke looked round to see old Ben standing behind them with Leia and Han, and the aging Tholothian smiled.

"Hello Obi-Wan."

Ben's smile widened, and the two embraced. "I thought you'd been killed in the Purges!"

Strass chuckled. "No, we were able to get away."

Ben's eyes flickered towards the younger Tholothian, and he smiled. "Katooni?"

"Master Kenobi." She said bowing respectfully, and giving him a smile. "It's good to see you survived. We weren't sure if you had."

Ben smiled. "Yes, I did. I've spent the past sixteen years on Tantooine, watching over young Luke here."

Luke blushed slightly as the Jedi all turned their attention towards him, and because of being spoken about like he was some little kid.

"Are you Master Skywalker's son?" Katooni asked curiously, studying him closely.

"Er…"

Ben smiled. "Yes, he is."

"I'll say," Strass remarked. "The resemblance is stunning: you could really have no other father," She said, smiling kindly at Luke, who smiled only a little self-consciously in return.

Her attention turned to Leia, and her smile widened. "My…you look so much like your mother, dear."

Leia jumped slightly. "You knew my mother?"

Strass nodded. "Yes, we met a couple of times before the Purges: she was a Senator."

"What was her name?" Leia asked eagerly, and Luke was slightly surprised that she didn't know.

"Padm-"

Strass was cut off my old Ben, who was vigorously shaking his head. His eyes flickered first to Leia and then to Luke, conveying a silent message that only the female Jedi understood.

Strass's eyes widened, as the truth hit her: this was Anakin's daughter. Which meant…Padme Amidala was Luke's mother too.

"Um, sorry, I can't remember." She lied very badly.

Luke raised an eyebrow, and was about to press the matter on behalf of the Princess, when another person joined their little group.

"Obi-Wan!"

Ben turned around and was pleasantly surprised for the second time that day – even though he knew that this particular Jedi was indeed alive.

"Ferus! It's good to see you, my friend. But what are you doing here?"

The man grinned. "I was actually sent to investigate Princess Leia here's death: Vader informed Alderraan that you'd been killed over Tantooine when your ship was blown up, your Highness, and your father asked me to investigate." He replied, directing this last part at Leia.

Anger surged through the young Princess at these words. "That Sith-Bastard! He ordered me taken prisoner and then _told my people I was __**dead**_?"

Ferus nodded. "I'm afraid so, Princess."

Leia sagged. "Typical sith…" She proceeded to mutter a number of choice insults that Obi-Wan found himself fighting a smile in spite of himself – she reminded him so much of her father in that moment.

Ferus raised an eyebrow at the foul language issuing from the royal's mouth, vaguely amused despite the situation.

"I was hoping I'd see you, actually, Obi-Wan," He said, as Leia continued to mutter darkly to herself, with Han watching on in awe, as she knew some swear words that even he didn't.

"Oh, yes? And why is that?"

"I managed to hack into the Temple's security footage – the Empire apparently didn't want anyone viewing Vader's slaughtering of the Jedi." He added bitterly. "Which made me wonder: what was there that he wanted to hide? I haven't actually viewed it yet, as I didn't have time, but I figured it could be worth a look, however painful it may be," He added, swallowing thickly at the end as he remembered how it had felt to feel so many of his fellow Jedi die at the same time.

Obi-Wan was intrigued. "Indeed. I'd have thought Palpatine would want that footage to be available: after all, it shows his apprentice 'cleansing' the galaxy, what with that ridiculous propaganda he ordered published to make his slaughtering of the Jedi seem 'for the greater good'. Surely he would have wanted the public to know just how deadly his apprentice is?"

"Exactly what I thought," Ferus said, leading the way over to a computer unit, where he inserted a small data-chip into the device, activating the footage and scrolling through to Vader storming the Temple.

Luke, Leia, Chewie, Biggs and Derek watched on in horror with the four Jedi as a tall, hooded figure viciously cut down small children in the Jedi Council Chambers, before the footage skipped on, showing Storm Troopers gunning down Jedi after Jedi as they fought valiantly, but there was simply too many of them.

Ferus followed Vader's progress through the Temple, sickened as he watched the carnage, until the Sith entered the Room of A Thousand Fountains.

Here he was met by a Jedi who had incredibly swordsman skills: Vader engaged him while stretching out a hand to a young girl about Luke's own age, using the Force to choke her.

"Cin Drallig and Bene." Stress murmured, her eyes intent on the footage.

Luke watched on as Cin landed a hit on Vader, socking him in the jaw while their sabers were caught in a vicious lock, and sent the hood of his clock falling back over his shoulders as his head was snapped back. His face twisted in anger, Vader let the girl fall to the floor, where she didn't move again, and viciously cut down the Jedi Master.

"Wait, freeze it there!" Obi-Wan instructed, and Ferus did so, freezing the image as Vader charged towards a second young Padawan, who had been busy deflecting blaster bolts from Imperial Storm Troopers as his friends were slaughtered. Obi-Wan stared at Vaders face, his brow furrowed. "Something's not right," He murmured, as Olin too stared at the face of the feared Sith, seeing only his old 'friend' Anakin Skywalker, and nothing more.

"That's Whie! I always wondered how he escaped: he never did say." Katooni said, gesturing at the young Padawan.

Ferus looked round, surprised out of his shocked stupor. "Whie's alive?"

Katooni nodded. "You didn't know? Loads of Jedi made it out that day."

"That's not Anakin." Obi-Wan interrupted, staring intently at the hologram.

"What?" Ferus demanded. "It sure looks like him."

"Look at his eye."

"What about it?"

"He has no scar."

"Skywalker had a scar?"

"Wow, wow, wow…_Skywalker? Anakin?_" Luke demanded. "What are you both _on_ about?"

"Your father is Darth Vader." Ferus said, and Luke's mouth dropped open.

"No…you're lying…he can't be." He rounded on Obi-Wan. "You told me Vader killed my father!"

"He did, in a sense. At least, I thought he had turned. But now I see that I was mistaken."

"Yeah, you said." Ferus replied. "Care to explain why you don't think Skywalker turned to the Dark side now?"

"Because that's not Anakin." Obi-Wan repeated. "I fought beside him nearly every day: I _know_ what he looked like – and that isn't him. He has no scar down his eye, and, now that I look closer, his face has slight differences too."

"So if Vader's not Anakin, then…who is he?"

"And what happened to Anakin?" Obi-Wan added, and Katooni frowned.

"You mean you don-" Strass cut her off with a hand on her shoulder and a warning look, shaking her head slightly.

"Can you keep playing it?" The Jedi Master said. "I'm curious to know how Whie survived."

Ferus nodded, and hit play again.

Luke, his mind still reeling, watched on as Vader raised his lightsaber to slice through the young Padwans' chest as he turned, his eyes wide, as if knowing and accepting what was to come.

But then, at the last moment, a young man sprinted in from the side of the picture, and Luke heard Ben's sharp intake of breath, his eyes riveted on the young man as he flung his lightsaber to one side, heading straight for Vader, who looked so like him.

As Vader was about to slice down the young Padawan – Whie, Katooni had called him – the second young man grabbed Vaders arm and swung him around. His other hand came up, closing around his throat near the bottom of his neck. As the nine watched on, they saw Vader falter, his eyes widening as the second young man looked him straight in the eyes. His eyes seemed to glow a little brighter even in the hologram, and they watched as Vader slowly sank to his knees, his face creased in pain before he finally fell to the floor, unconscious.

The young man who had taken him down staggered slightly, and Whie reached out a hand to steady him, but he was already recovering from whatever it was that he had done to Vader. His head suddenly snapped around, and he called his lightsaber back to his hand, as well as the fallen Jedi Masters, igniting them both and holding them ready to fight as Whie activated his own, calling over Bene's as well, as they both figured neither would really mind if their lightsabers were used to help other Jedi survive.

Storm Troopers suddenly came pouring into the room, and began firing rapidly. Luke watched in awe of the speed with which the second young man fought, deflecting bolt after bolt back at their attackers, before flipping up and over their heads to land in the centre of them, where he began hacking them down with brutal efficiency.

Ferus froze the image again, and exchanged a surprised look with Obi-Wan.

"Who was that second guy?" Han asked, impressed despite himself at the young mans' obvious skills.

"_That_ was Anakin." Obi-Wan said. "No doubt about it."

"That was Luke's father?" Leia asked, slightly awed herself.

"Yes," Strass replied. "And yours as well."

Leia's mouth dropped open, as she stared at the Jedi.

"Master Allie's right." Katooni cut in. "Anakin Skywalker is your father."

Obi-Wan sighed. He hadn't intended revealing this particular piece of information just yet, but that decision had been taken out of his hands.

"You know you were adopted, don't you Leia?" He asked gently, and the young Princess nodded hesitantly. "Well, what Master Allie says is true: Anakin Skywalker _is_ your father, as he is Luke's."

"He slept with two women at the same time?" Han asked, raising an eyebrow, for it was obvious that the two were of a similar age.

Obi-Wan shook his head. "No, you both have the same mother."

"What was her name?" Luke asked eagerly, and Obi-Wan smiled slightly.

"Padme Amidala."

Leia gasped. "Senator Amidala is my – um, _our_ – mother?"

Obi-Wan nodded, smiling slightly.

"I believe it's Amidala _Skywalker_, actually," Stress said with a smile, and Obi-Wan's eyebrows vanished into his hair line.

"They were _married_?"

"Still are," Katooni said cheerfully, and grinned when he gave her a mystified look.

"You mean they're still alive?"

"Yep," She replied. "And pretty pissed at you for taking their twins away from them and separating them at birth, I'd say. You'd better watch out for Padme when you see her, though: she was _livid_ when she woke up from her coma and found out you'd taken her children away from her – and that you bought that bullshit that her husband was the Dark Lord of the Sith." She added as an afterthought.

"Oh," Obi-Wan said, looking slightly embarrassed. "Wait a minute: Padme died in childbirth."

"No she didn't," Strass interjected. "She fell into a coma, and woke up a few days later. She was _not_ pleased, though, as you can imagine. One of the only times I've ever seen her angry in all the time I've known, her, actually – _really_ angry, I mean.

"Anakin was better at controlling his temper, as he knew it could land him joining Vader as a Sith, but he isn't best pleased with you, either, former mentor and friend or not." She added.

Obi-Wan gulped. He knew Anakin's temper very well, and a controlled, angry Anakin was even more dangerous. He hoped it wouldn't result in a physical fight between them – a verbal fight was bad enough!

"Wait, does that mean he's still alive? He survived the Purges?" Olin asked, and Katooni nodded.

"Yes, and he helped many Jedi escape too." She replied.

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "Oh? How?"

"He formed an evacuation almost single-handedly." Strass replied. "While some of us helped the injured onto transports, with the help of some who were loyal in the Senate he and a few others stormed the Temple after the storm-troopers – they rescued many and killed far more storm-troopers than the rest of us put together – had to, or else they and so many others would have been killed. Anakin saved quite a few from under Vaders very nose, as well, from what I've heard."

"So where has he been all our lives?" Luke demanded, slightly hurt.

"Luke, you have to understand that it was in both yours and Leia's best interests to keep you separated from both each other and your parents." Obi-Wan said, and Luke frowned.

"Hang on, you didn't even know our parents were still alive!" Leia cried angrily.

Obi-Wan gulped, stuck.

"Your parents couldn't come get you, young ones," Strass said gently. "But I know that they longed to, with all their hearts. Alderaan was too close to the Core near the start of the Galactic Empire for either of them to set foot there, both being enemies of the Empire, and as for Tantooine, Obi-Wan here had made it almost impossible for anyone to get anywhere near you Luke – and, even though your father had a knack for getting in places he wasn't allowed, it would cause too much hassle to get to you, and it was attention that neither of your parents wanted to bring to you. The Emperor wouldn't rest until he found both of you if he found out that you'd survived."

"So…they wanted to see us, but they couldn't?" Leia asked quietly, and Katooni smiled softly at her, and nodded.

"Yes," She said, laying a hand gently on the young woman's shoulder. "They thought about you every day, you know. Both of you," She added, looking at Luke. "I know they did."

"Do you know where they are?" Luke asked, and she nodded.

"Well, not right at this minute, but I know where they've been based. It's where all the Jedi Anakin managed to rescue have been keeping a low profile for the past sixteen years – our base of operations, if you like. Padme has been aiding the Rebellion in every way she can on the political side of things for years – in fact, she was one of the founders – and your father, along with many other Jedi, has participated in many a mission over the years, both covert and overt – and all extremely dangerous, of course." She added with a roll of her eyes.

"Of course," Obi-Wan murmured dryly, still slightly dazed by the welcome and most unexpected news that his former Padawan and brother hadn't really turned to the Dark Side, and that he and many other Jedi had in fact survived the Purge.

"Who'd a thought it, huh?" Biggs grinned. "Luke the farm boy is actually the son of a famous Jedi war-hero and a Senator."

Luke grinned, still slightly jaded by the news he had received.

Han too was looking impressed. "I'll say," He remarked. "I remember the Clone Wars: I was just a kid back then, of course, but everyone had heard of Anakin Skywalker – you were either terrified of him if you were a Separatist, or else admired him if you were Republic."

"And what were you?" Leia asked, vaguely amused.

Han snorted. "Republic of course, I'm not ashamed to admit that your Dad was a bit of a childhood idol for me – I remember being devastated when the clones started killing all the Jedi, because the Emperor made sure it was known that Skywalker was one of the first to go – course, no-one really questioned this, as they all knew how good a soldier he was…well, assumed he was from all the various holo-net reports and the occasional footage of him in battle that was sometimes uploaded on the holo-net."

Obi-Wan scowled. "Oh yes, I remember that." He grumbled. "A bloody nightmare those folk were: footage like that isn't just something to post on the holo-net and see how many hits it received."

Han chuckled. "Yeah, but he got a hell of a lot of hits – weren't you in some too?"

Obi-Wan scowled. "Probably."

Katooni chuckled. "You should be pleased, master," She teased. "You're famous, and not just by reputation – you're a film star!"

Luke and Biggs snickered at the look on the old mans face. While they talked and laughed, they failed to notice a middle aged man striding towards them until he was right next to them.

"Princess Leia."

Leia turned, and smiled as she recognised the man who had spoken. "General Dodonna, it's good to see you."

The aging man smiled. "And you, my dear. I've analysed the Death Star plans you acquired, and I believe I have a plan to destroy it."

"That's fantastic!" Leia exclaimed. "So, are we launching an assault?"

The General nodded. "Yes, and that is why I came over," He looked over at Biggs and Derek. "Darklighter, Klivian, I need you in the briefing room. You'll be flying with the squadron that'll be blowing up the Empire's ultimate weapon: you are two of our greatest pilots, and we need you up there."

Biggs and Derek exchanged a look, and then grinned. "You know, sir," Biggs began. "If you want great pilots up there, you should let Luke fly with us."

General Dodonna studied Luke curiously. "Have you got any military training?"

Luke shook his head. "No, sir."

Dodonna frowned. "Then I don't know –"

"He's Anakin Skywalker's son." Obi-Wan said quietly, and the General's eyes widened as he turned to face him.

"_The_ Anakin Skywalker? Greatest pilot in the galaxy who flew in the Clone Wars?"

"That's the one," Katooni said cheerfully, and Dodonna smiled.

"Well, kid," He said, smiling at Luke. "I've changed my mind. If you're half the pilot your father was, then you're now a part of that squad. If you want that is."

Luke's eyes had widened, and were shining with childlike wonder. "Of course I do!" He exclaimed, and the General chuckled.

"Then I suggest you three make your way to the briefing room: I'll be laying out the plan there in five minutes."

* * *

It didn't take long after the briefing for them all to suit up and get in their fighters. Luke took R2 with him in his, and the droid seemed unusually excited about taking part in a space battle.

"What's got him so excited?" Luke asked Obi-Wan as he zipped up his flight suit.

Obi-Wan smiled. "He belonged to your father during the Clone Wars – a gift from your mother, I believe, although I didn't know this at the time. Our friend R2 here flew with him in his starfighter in battle."

Luke smiled slightly, and glanced over at the droid, who was gleefully being lowered into the droid port of Luke's X-wing. "So he's a veteran." He grinned, and Obi-Wan chuckled.

"Yes, I suppose he is. But then in that case, so is C-3PO."

Luke raised an eyebrow, lowering his flight helmet over his head. "Are you going to tell me that he was my fathers too?"

Obi-Wan chuckled again. "No, he was your mothers – a gift from your father, probably – but Anakin built him when he lived on Tantooine with his mother."

"My father lived on Tantooine?" Luke's voice was slightly muffled through his helmet.

"Yes; my master found him when he was nine years old. He was a slave at the time, though, so he had to win his freedom. He raced in the Boonta Eve Classic and won."

Luke banged his head on the underside of his ship as he jumped slightly ducking under it. "My father won a _pod race_? He was a _slave_?"

"Yes, and yes. Apparently, he was the only human who could do it. And I believe he and his mother belonged to a junk yard owner and gambler named Watto. My master bet that if Anakin won the race, then Watto would get all the money he won, minus the amount for the parts that he needed, and that Anakin would be freed. Well, Anakin surprised his master by winning, and walked free. Unfortunately, he had to leave his mother behind that day, as Watto refused to set her free, too: I imagine that was the hardest thing he ever had to do."

"So what happened then?" Luke called down, checking over his flight controls.

Obi-Wan chuckled. "Perhaps I'll tell you when you return, but right now you have a space station to blow up."

Luke grinned under his helmet, and focused his attention on the flight officer as he gave the order to start their engines.

Obi-Wan quickly backed out of the ships way as they jetted out of the hanger and of up into the skies, before leaving to join Leia, Dodonna and a couple of other Rebel leaders round the situation table where they would monitor the battle up in space. Han had already left with Chewbacca, much to Leia's annoyance, so neither of them was there. The whole base was on red alert, everyone's senses tingling with the knowledge that the Death Star was in orbit above them.

* * *

Up in space, there was an intense battle going on, with rebels shooting down storm-troopers, and storm-troopers shooting down rebels.

"Going down that corridor, we're going to have to pull up to incredible speeds," Derek said.

"Yeah, this is going to be almost impossible," Biggs said.

"Ah, it'll be just like Beggars Canyon back home," Luke replied, glad when he felt a slight shift in the still relatively new Force as Biggs confidence was boosted.

"Those towers are taking out our fighters real fast, boss!" Derek said.

"You worry about the fighters, I'll worry about the towers," Luke replied, focusing his gaze on the nearest tower in question.

Releasing a deep breath, he let the Force guide him as he locked onto the tower, releasing a burst of laser fire that should have destroyed the tower.

Unfortunately, it seemed that they were ray-shielded.

Luke swore colourfully – something that he rarely did – and quickly pulled out with Biggs and Derek as the towers fixed them in their sights.

"R2, that stabiliser's come loose again; see if you can fix it down!" Luke called as he felt his ship judder. The faithful little droid immediately got on the problem, and within moments Luke's display lights were flashing a healthy green again, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"We're losing too many fighters," General Dodonna's voice came through their comm. system. "This isn't looking good boys. We'll need a miracle to get out of this one alive."

And then a miracle appeared.

Pulling out of hyperspace directly in front of Luke, Biggs and Derek, twelve fighters suddenly joined the fray, gunning down the Imperial fighters with brutal accuracy, and the tide was suddenly turning in the Rebels favour.

"Unidentified squadron leader, please state your identification and maybe we'll not shoot you down." Luke heard Obi-Wan's voice through his comm. link, and was surprised at the shooting them down bit.

"Is that really any way to treat you old Padawan, Master?" A voice asked, and, down below on the planet, Obi-Wan Kenobi's mouth dropped open while Strass and Katooni just smiled.

"_Anakin_?"

Strass rolled her eyes, and took over. "Nice timing, Skywalker."

"Hey, Master Allie. Didn't know you were down there." Luke watched on in awe as the lead fighter took an incredibly tight turn, leading the missiles on his tail streaking towards their doom as the followed him towards one of the main defence turrets that were still gunning down the Rebel fighters. Luke watched in amazement as the underside of his fathers' ship glanced off the turret, and, next second, watched the explosion as the missiles burst through the ray-shied and exploded the weapon.

"Whoa-ho!" Luke heard the cheer through the comm. system, and realised that their ships were now on the same comm. frequency as his fathers' squadron.

"Easy, Broadside," Luke heard the laughter in his fathers' voice even though he didn't know him. "It's not over just yet."

"So let's blow this sucker up and get out of here," Another voice said, this one sounding a lot like Broadside's.

"What's the matter, Rex-ster?" A female voice asked, the smirk evident. "Scared?"

The other pilot snorted. "You wish, Commander: I've been competing in space battles since before you were assigned to the General, Kid," He said. "I ain't scared."

The woman laughed, and Luke watched as her red fighter and his father's yellow dodged around several fighters, leading them into a giant explosion and dodging out of the blast just in time to avoid damage to their own ships.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Obi-Wan's voice came in over the comm. again. "_Broadside? Rex_? I thought you guys were Imperials now?"

A third man snorted. "Glad to see you have so much faith in us, General."

"Fives?"

"The one and only."

"Quite being cocky and blow that fighter up already, you dolt!" A fourth voice said.

"_Echo_?"

"Hey General."

"I thought you were killed at the Citadel?"

"We thought he was, too," Anakin replied. "But he made it out. Luke, you up to taking another crack at blowing this thing up?"

Luke jumped slightly as his father addressed him, but soon grinned. "Definitely."

"Ahsoka, Whie, Aeyla: cover us,"

"You got it, Skyguy."

Together, father and son dipped back into the corridor, pushing their engines to the limit as they dodged blaster fire and came up on target zone fast.

Suddenly, a devastating blast hit Derek's ship, and he swore, looking around him while desperately trying to keep his ship under control.

"Vader." Luke heard his father growl. "Klivian, get out of here: you can't do anymore here, not with that much damage. Get back down to base."

"Yes'sir!" Derek said, and quickly pulled out.

"Let him go," Vader ordered his storm-troopers. "Stay on the leader."

"Jesse, can you take out any of the fighters tailing us?"

"Dunno, sir: these are better than the others."

"Vaders elite," Anakin muttered. "Alright, Luke: we've only got one shot at this. You ready?"

His son nodded. "Yes."

As they were coming up on the target, however, Luke's wing was clipped by a shot from the leader of the three Imperials tailing him: Vader. And he had taken out R2 with a second one.

"Look out Luke!" His friend Wedge Antillies called out.

Luke took a deep, steadying breath, and activated his targeting computer.

Anakin opened up a secure channel to his son. "Use the Force, Luke. Let go. Feel; don't think."

Luke hesitated, and then deactivated his computer.

"Luke, you switched off your targeting computer: what's wrong?" A technician down in the base asked, concerned.

"Nothing," He replied. "I'm alright; just following some pretty good advice."

Unbeknownst to any of them, Anakin smiled.

"Use the Force, Luke," Obi-Wan urged, but Luke cut him off before he could give him the full lecture.

"Sorry, Ben: Dad's already told me."

"Oh," Obi-Wan muttered, trying not to feel envious.

Anakin, feeling the twinge of jealously stirring within his former master, smirked.

"Careful there, master." He said, and Obi-Wan could easily hear the smirk in his voice. "You want to keep those emotions of your under control,"

"Oh, shut up, Anakin." Obi-Wan snapped back, but Anakin just laughed, and they could hear a couple of the other fighters in the new squadron snickering in the background.

"Ready, Luke?"

"Yeah," He said, swallowing nervously, before opening himself up to the Force like his father had instructed him.

Anakin could feel Vader closing in on them, but he didn't tell his son: the boy was nervous enough as it was.

Opening himself up to the Force like his son, Anakin felt that blast that was about to be shot from Vader's ship.

Until, of course, it was jolted off course as one of the two ships flanking him was blown up from behind.

Han Solo cheered and whooped in delight. "You're all clear, kid, now let's blow this thing and go home." He said.

Luke grinned, and, at exactly the same time as his father, released two torpedoes, both father and son guiding them into the main reactor with the aid of the Force, and then pulling out of there and heading back to base with the other eleven Fierfek Squadron fighters, Wedge and Biggs, the exploding Death Star in the background behind them. Derek's ship had already made it back down – and just in time, as the engine had given out.

"Great shot, kid: that was one in a million!" Han called over the comm. link as Luke breathed a sigh of relief, a relieved smile spreading over his face.

"Good job, Luke. And remember: the Force will always be with you." Obi-Wan said.

"Kenobi's right: and that was a bloody good shot," Anakin said, and Luke grinned, pleased with his fathers' praise.

"Fighters, fall in and tighten formation: we're heading back to the Rebel Base, and then we're going home." Anakin said to his fighters, and they cheered.

"Alright!"

"Lead the way, Skywalker."

"We're right behind you, Skyguy."

* * *

Back at the rebel base, they were met with a hero's welcome.

As Luke climbed out of his ship, rebels came running over to congratulate him.

Ducking under the belly of his fighter, Leia called out his name.

Luke turned and grinned, wrapping his arms around his twin and spinning her around as they both laughed in delight. Han son joined them, and patted the young rebel on the back.

"Hey, I knew you'd be back!" Luke told him.

"Well, I couldn't let you take all the credit, and the reward!"

"Oh, I knew there was more to you than money!" Leia said, hugging the smuggler.

Luke glanced up, and groaned. "Oh, no!"

They all turned to see R2-D2 being lowered down from Luke's ship, completely fried.

"R2, can you hear me? Say something!" 3PO gushed.

"You can repair him, can't you?" He asked the technician lowering him down.

"We'll get to work on him right away," The technician assured the distraught droid.

"You must repair him!" He turned to Luke. "Sir, if any of my circuits or gears will help, I'll gladly donate them!"

Luke put a hand on his metal shoulder, shaking his head. "He'll be alright," He assured him, before leaving with Han and Leia.

They were about to leave the hanger bay when they saw the fighter squadron who had come to help them docking.

"Hey, guys: come on!" Luke urged them, and led the way over to the yellow fighter.

A technician was just rolling over a ladder to help the pilot down as the top hatch opened, but the pilot simply jumped off the wing. He flashed a grin at the technician, and then spotted Luke coming towards them.

With a smile, he made his way over.

Suddenly, though, as they were about to reach each other, someone stepped in between them.

Anakin raised an eyebrow. "Kenobi." He said, and Obi-Wan was slightly shocked at the coldness in the young man's voice.

He studied his former Padawan closely, and was surprised to see that his appearance really hadn't changed all that much in the past sixteen years. He looked a little older, it was true, and he wore different clothes, but apart from that, the years had been kind to him – unlike they had to himself.

"Anakin," He replied, surprised to find that he was slightly nervous.

Sensing this, Anakin smirked. "Relax, old man: I'm not going to hit you – as much as I'd like to."

"You're not?" Even to Han, Obi-Wan seemed immensely relieved. "Why not?"

"Because I promised Padme I'd let her have first go at you."

Obi-Wan gulped, now considerably more terrified. "Is she, um…is she still angry?"

"_Angry_?" His former Padawan asked incredulously, his eyes flashing with fury. "I've never _seen_ her as mad as she was when she found out what you did!"

"Anakin, you must understand that I thought I was doing the right thing!"

"The right thing for who, Master?" He snarled. "You? 'Cause it sure as hell wasn't the right think for any of us!"

"I thought you'd turned to the Dark Side!" Obi-Wan roared, and then coughed as he wasn't used to doing that anymore.

Anakin raised an eyebrow coldly, but at least had the decency to wait until his former master's coughing fit was over – even if he didn't help him, either.

"You trained me." He hissed back when his master was finished. "You raised me; you fought beside me every day! And yet _you thought I turned to the Dark Side_? What the hell is that?"

"My friend, I am truly sorry –"

"Forget it," Anakin cut him off harshly.

"So…I'm forgiven?"

Anakin snorted. "Not even close. But I'm not about to break my word to Padme: you deal with her, and then, if you survive, we'll talk."

Obi-Wan gulped. "If I survive?"

Anakin smirked coldly. "I never said she'd just use words. And she is rather handy with a blaster," He added, just to see what reaction this would get out of the old man.

"Hey, enough." Luke said, stepping in between them. His father raised an eyebrow slightly, but didn't say anything more on the subject, for which Luke was grateful.

"This is the first time you guys have seen each other in _sixteen_ years, and you're at each other's throats?" He continued incredulously, and his father snorted.

"Kid, you want to see us at each other's throats, stand well back and don't stop me punching his bloody lights out."

Luke saw Obi-Wan pale at these words, and knew his father is deadly serious. He couldn't help but smile a little, though.

"Why are you so mad at him? Is it just because he split us up when we were born?" He asked, referring to himself and Leia, but at the same time their parents and the twins.

"Yes and no: truthfully, I've felt like hitting him for years."

Obi-Wan looked surprised to hear this. "You have?" He questioned, and Anakin snorted again as a young togrutan woman came to stand next to them, along with a slightly older human woman and a female twi-lek.

"Of course he has!" The human exclaimed. "What did you expect, the way you taught him?"

"What was wrong with the way I taught him?" Obi-Wan asked, his brow furrowed in confusion, and the human snorted.

"Oh, let's see, shall we?: there's the fact that you held him back – for _years_, I might add – and then there's the fact that you thought he turned to the Dark Side – "

Obi-Wan cut her off here. "I already apologised for that, and we were discussing other reasons why he wants to hit me!"

"Yes, but this comes from another reason!" She cried, and Luke thought he caught a trace of amusement in his fathers' eyes as he watched the woman chew out his former master. "You never really knew your Padawan, did you, Master Kenobi?"

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to protest this, but she didn't give him a chance.

"Oh, you say you did, but how well did you really? After all, the Jedi that knew him – _really_ knew him, like you should have – knew that it was a lie that he had turned. He may have been your Padawan, but you prevented yourself from feeling anything towards him for years, and, when you finally began to admit that he was like a brother to you, you still didn't _listen_ to him. Not really."

"Of course I –" But he was cut off again.

"How much do you know of his past, Obi-Wan? How much do you know of the pain and torture he endured every day for years at the hands of some of the galaxies worst criminals? How much do you know of the family he left behind – did you even _know_ he had a family?"

"Of course I did!" Obi-Wan butted in, finally managing to make himself heard over her tirade. "He left his mother behind!"

"Oh, he left more than his mother behind, Obi-Wan Kenobi." She hissed. "You honestly didn't know that he had a younger brother and sister, did you?"

Obi-Wan looked surprised at this. "You did?" He asked his former Padawan, and the man nodded, his gaze still cold.

"And how much did you know about –"

"Enough, Serra." Anakin said quietly, and she turned to look at him, surprised.

"Why? Not like he doesn't deserve a good chewing out after what he did!"

Anakin smiled slightly. "I know that: I'm just saying enough for now. We have more important things to be doing."

Saying this, he stepped around his former master and moved towards his two children, a smile on his face.

With a very un-Leia like sob, the princess wrapped her arms around her father for the first time in her life, and Anakin readily returned the embrace.

"I used to see you in my dreams," She sobbed, while his hand rubbed her back soothingly.

"What do you mean?" He asked gently, giving his son a soft smile which he readily returned.

"I'd be having a nightmare or something, and then I'd be in a meadow, and you'd be there. You'd rock me and calm me down, and I would feel so safe."

Anakin smiled down at her. "You know, I used to have dreams like that, for a few years: they'd come randomly, but I'll never forget that little girl. I knew it was you even though I'd never seen you before, but I always figured it was just a dream. Now I know that it was the Force working to help me comfort you even though we were so far apart."

Leia smiled through her tears, and then began furiously wiping them away.

Anakin chuckled slightly, and brushed away a couple that she'd missed, and then stepped forwards to embrace his son.

"Nice shooting," Luke said with a grin as they pulled apart, and Anakin chuckled.

"Not so bad yourself: especially since you've never been in a space battle before,"

"Yeah, that was really something," The togrutan remarked, and Luke flushed a little under their praise.

Anakin chuckled, seeing his son's flaming cheeks. He spotted his daughter and his twins' companion studying the other curiously, and smiled.

"This is Jedi Knights Serra Keto," He gestured at the human, "Aeyla Secura," the Twi'lek, "And my former Padawan, Ahsoka Tano." The togrutan grinned at them, and neither Luke nor Leia could resist grinning back: her grin was too infectious.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Leia said. "This is our pilot," She gestured towards Han. "He helped rescue me from the Death Star."

"Han Solo," Han said with a smile, and feeling a little lost and star-struck as he shook hands with one of the galaxies biggest ever heroes.

Anakin smiled. "Pleasure to meet you, Han. And thank you for rescuing Leia: we were going to come after you ourselves," He said to Leia. "But we weren't informed until it would have been too late. However, we were able to get here on time to help destroy that Death Star."

"Yeah, and a good thing, too." Luke remarked. "We thought we'd had it for a moment there, and then you lot showed up!"

Aeyla chuckled. "Our pleasure," She said with a warm smile, and both twins found themselves instantly liking all three of the female Jedi.

**Well, how was it? I promise some of the mysteries will be answered in the next chapter, and we'll meet Aeyla Skywalker. I don't know how long it will take to get the next chapter up, but I wanted to post this section, just to know what people think, and if you think I should continue with this story-line. **

**Anyways, please leave me some reviews, and I'll update as soon as I can if you want to know what happens next.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, here it is: the second chapter of **Against the Odds**. Hope you enjoy, and thanks so much to the **_**two**_** people who reviewed. I'm amazed: 99 visitors in two days, and only 2 people left me a review. It would be really useful for me if more of you left reviews, because then I would know if you wanted me to continue the story or not. If hardly anyone reviews, I might just think that you don't want me to continue with the story line and remove the story – so if you want to know what happens, plz leave me some reviews! :)**

**I know that the Padme and Obi-Wan scene isn't that good, but I felt that couldn't do it justice, so if any of you want to give it a go, feel free. If you want, send me your version of her reaction and full tirade against Obi-Wan, and I can add it into the story if you want it published - and if it fits in with the story, of course!**

**Anyway, I own nothing except a couple of characters that are my own creation: the rest is Lucus'.**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

Fierfek squadron stayed for the medal ceremony at which Anakin, Luke and Han were presented with medals of honour to acknowledge their bravery, placed around their necks by Leia, as it was her duty as Princess of the Rebellion, before setting off for their 'home base' on Apliria, a distant planet in wild space that had been discovered by a Jedi on the run years ago, and where they had made their secret base.

But this time, they would not be returning alone. Luke, Leia, Obi-Wan, C-3PO and R2-D2 were going to follow them in the Flacon with Han and Chewie piloting. Ferus, Strass and Katooni were taking their own ships, and would meet them there as well.

Anakin had given Han the frequency of their squadron's comm. links, and Ferus as well, so they were all able to stay in contact during the trip.

"So you really never turned to the Dark Side?" Obi-Wan asked, and winced when he heard Anakin swear colourfully at the other end of the line.

"How many times! NO!"

"Sorry! I'm just glad to see you again, I guess."

Anakin grunted, but didn't reply.

"So what have you been doing all these years, Master Kenobi?" A young male Jedi asked – Luke had learned earlier that his name was Whie, the one they had seen Anakin save in the holo-footage earlier.

"I've been watching over Luke," Obi-Wan replied, feeling slightly uncomfortable as all the people in the fighter squadron knew that he had separated the twins at birth both from each other and from their parents.

There was a kind of stony silence over the comm. before Oddball broke it.

"You raised him?"

Grateful for the question, Obi-Wan hurried to explain. "No, no: I kept my distance, staying out in the Dune Sea. His Aunt and Uncle raised him,"

"I am right here, you know." Luke muttered, a little pissed off by the fact that the older Jedi was speaking about him like he wasn't even there.

Obi-Wan smiled. "I know, Luke: I'm sorry."

"So did you enjoy farming, then Luke?" Anakin's voice came over the comm., and his son snorted with a scowl.

"No. I hated it – hated Tantooine, too." He replied sullenly, and Anakin chuckled a little.

"Yeah, I hate it there, too: can't say I would've enjoyed farming much, either." He added as an afterthought, and Luke heard Ahsoka snort with laughter.

"I honestly can't imagine you living a life where there isn't a stray blaster bolt coming your way every five seconds."

"Hey, I'm not _that_ bad!" Anakin protested while sniggers were heard from the other fighters.

Obi-Wan chuckled. "Anakin, you were that bad even back during the Clone Wars."

"Oh, yeah?" His former friend retorted, and Obi-Wan was pleased to hear a teasing hint back in his previously cold voice. "Like you were any better."

"General Kenobi didn't walk around with a giant 'Shoot Me!' sign strapped to his head, though," Fives pointed out mischievously, and Anakin glowered at his wind shield.

"Neither did I!"

"You might as well have," Aeyla Secura sniggered, and even Ferus chuckled a little with them.

"I'm surprised you didn't get yourself killed if half the stories are true, Skywalker," He remarked.

Anakin snorted. "It wasn't exactly hard to dodge their blasts: they were just droids, after all."

A furious tirade of whistles and beeps came over his comm. from the Falcon, and Anakin winced. "No offense, R2."

The droid made an indignant noise, and Ahsoka smiled.

"Hey, don't be like that, Artoo-ee," She said, "You know he doesn't mean you: just those evil battle droids."

The feisty little astromech let out another string of beeps, but sounded slightly less insulted.

"I'm surprised that little rust buckets still going," Rex remarked, to which he received an angry tirade from the droid in question. "Alright, alright!" Rex held his hands up in defeat, even though nobody could see him. He didn't know what the little astromech was saying as he couldn't understand him like the General and the Commander could, but he got the general idea. "I'm sorry: I just meant that most droids don't last as long as you have – you're very resilient." He complimented, trying to placate it, and he heard sniggers from his brothers.

Rex gritted his teeth, and attempted to ignore them.

"R2 really flew with you in your fighter during the Clone Wars?" Leia asked her father curiously, and Anakin smiled.

"Yep. Best droid I could've asked for."

R2 let out a self-satisfied little fanfare at that, and everybody laughed.

"It must have been amazing, fighting in the Clone Wars," Luke said, a little eagerly even. "You'd get to see so many places in the galaxy!"

Anakin chuckled at the boys enthusiasm – he reminded him a lot of himself at that age, though more even tampered. "While it's true that we did go to a lot of places, they were mostly war zones. And that was hell: we were fighting an army hell bent on creating mass-genocide, and hardly got any time off."

"In other words, Skyguy couldn't see his illegal wife that much," Ahsoka cut in, and there were chuckles from all the various ships.

"True," Anakin admitted. "But she usually managed to find herself in a war zone anyway, so we saw each other a lot more than what we would've if she'd stayed in the Senate."

Ahsoka laughed. "Yeah, I suppose: but I think that's really good. I mean, she was willing to put her life on the line to help people more directly than she could in the Senate: how many Senators can you say that that was true for?"

"Hardly any," A young woman – Scout, she was called (well, that was her nickname anyway: Luke couldn't remember her whole name off the top of his head right now, it was so long) – agreed.

"So, this planet," Han asked after a few moments of comfortable silence. "Is it only Jedi and defected Clones who live there?"

Aeyla shook her head even though she knew that no one could see her. "No: there are others there too. Mostly humans who lived there before – there weren't very many on the planet at all, to be honest, just the few descendants of people who had crashed there long ago and had no way to return to the galaxy – it's that remote. But they welcomed us once we had explained about our situation, and we've even been training those who want to know how to fight: they said that if we ever needed any outside help, then they would be more than willing.

"Anyway, the Jedi have pretty much adapted normal lives – well, normal lives including all the Jedi training and military stuff, too – and we've just spread out around the planet. It's pretty small for a planet, though, so we can easily see each other without too long a journey. Towns and villages have been established, and such, but for the bigger stuff we need – like ships, and weapons and stuff like that – someone will travel off-world and back to the out-rim, usually, and get what we need. We have to be careful so that we're not recognised, so normally the humans that were here before us go, as they benefit from the supplies too."

"So the Jedi Order survived," Obi-Wan said, relieved that it wasn't extinct.

"Yep," Serra replied. "And it's growing every day."

"What?" He asked, confused.

"We got rid of the no attachment rule," Anakin explained briefly. "Jedi are allowed to have a family now.

"Anakin, I hardly think the Council would approve of that," Obi-Wan said sternly, missing his former Padawan's eye roll as he was on a different ship. "Master Windu wouldn't, and I certainly don't!"

"Well that's funny," Anakin snarled. "Because Windu was in complete agreement with us, as were the other Council members who came with us."

"Mace is alive?"

"Duh."

"Don't be cheeky." Obi-Wan immediately regretted this and he let out a sharp yelp of pain as Anakin gave him a vicious jab in his mind. Clutching his head, he glowered in the general direction of the other mans' ship.

* * *

Several hours later and after they had all gotten some sleep the journey was so long, all fifteen ships pulled out of hyperspace above a small green and blue planet, and began their descent into the atmosphere.

They all followed behind Anakin's ship as he streaked towards one particular little town, docking in the hanger while a young man came up to them with a smile on his face.

Anakin leapt out of his ship, and grinned back at Sors Bandeam.

"Master Skywalker!" The young human exclaimed. "You're back sooner than we expected."

"Ah, it was easier than we suspected," Anakin said with a smile. "And we wanted to get back as quickly as possible."

Sors looked over the older man's shoulder, and raised an enquiring eyebrow as Han, Chewie, Luke, Leia and the two droids stepped off the Millennium Falcon. His eyes widened as he saw Obi-Wan descend last, and his mouth dropped open comically.

"Master Kenobi!"

Obi-Wan looked at him curiously. "Sors Bandeam?"

The young man grinned. "You remember me!"

"Who's he?" Han asked, not rudely, but just curiously.

"He was a youngling at the Jedi Temple during the days of the fall of the Republic. But I thought you were killed by Vader?"

The man shook his head. "No, Master Skywalker managed to get me, Jeswi and Shia out. Unfortunately, Vader had already killed the others by the time he got to us."

"I'm sorry," Obi-Wan murmured, and the young man nodded.

"Anyway, I maintain the hanger now." He said, in a more cheerful tone.

He then looked between Obi-Wan and Anakin. "Hang on…" He said slowly. "How come you're still in one piece?"

Anakin smirked a little. "Because I promised Padme I'd let her have first go at him."

Sors winced. "Well, good luck, Master." He said, and then more quietly under his breath: "You're gonna need it."

Anakin chuckled, and clapped the young man on the shoulder as he led the others past.

"Well, we'd best be off," Whie said once they were outside in the bright sunshine.

"Yeah, we wanna go see our kids," Scout said, with a smile and a wave before the pair walked off hand in hand in the opposite direction.

Anakin raised an eyebrow at Aeyla and Ahsoka. "You guys need to go too?"

Ahsoka nodded, with a bright smile. "Yep: I think I'll go surprise them."

Anakin chuckled. "Well, have fun."

"You too, Skyguy." Ahsoka said with a wave as she too left, along with Aeyla.

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow at Anakin, as the cones too walked off to their various houses and family/ friends.

"Whie and Scout?"

"Married."

Obi-Wan's mouth dropped open in shock. "And they have kids?"

"Yeah, three: two girls and a boy. Charlie and Isable are twins, and are nine, and Sky's the youngest girl at six."

Obi-Wan smiled slightly. "And Ahsoka?"

"She married Codi Ty – remember him?" Obi-Wan nodded – he did indeed remember the handsome young togrutan – yes, they were a good match, he thought with a slight smile as he remembered their various pranks at the Temple – well, people had just generally assumed it was them, they were very good at covering their tracks – a bit like Anakin and his friends in their Padawan days, he supposed. "Well, they have a boy and girl – Anna's the oldest at seven, and Kai's four."

"Aeyla?"

"She married Master Fisto, and they have a fifteen year old daughter – Kira."

Obi-Wan nodded. "Any other couples I should be aware of?"

Anakin smirked. "Plenty. But you'll find out about them later."

"Um, why?"

"Because first you need to deal with Padme – like I said, we'll talk if you survive her." Anakin glanced at Serra. "Serra, could you take the others to Ava's or something?"

Serra nodded, knowing that he'd rather introduce his twins to their mother without a large crowd present. "Sure, no problem: come on guys," She said, and Han, Chewie and Ferus followed her, while Strass and Katooni left to go do their own things.

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow as Anakin led the three of them up a nice garden path up to a beautiful house, which was much like the others they had passed: large, whitewashed and picturesque with a beautifully tended garden and flowers growing up the walls. "Ava's?"

"Tup's wife's café."

Obi-Wan was slightly surprised at this, but didn't let it show as Anakin unlocked the door and led them all into a welcoming hallway.

"Padme?" He called, and there was a thud from somewhere up the stairs, followed by the sound of giggles and running feet.

A little girl who looked about six years old with light brown hair and beautiful brown eyes appeared at the top of the stairs, and launched herself into Anakin's arms.

Anakin smiled as he caught his youngest daughter, and she hugged him tightly, before looking up and smiling brilliantly at him.

"Well, hey there Suki. How are you?"

"Better now you're home," She replied, squeezing her arms around his neck again, and Anakin smiled back at her.

"Well, I'm better now you're here, too." He replied. "But where's you mum? I need to talk to her."

"Bathing Col," The little girl replied, as she hopped down from his arms and shot a curious look at Luke, Leia and Obi-Wan. "He made a big mess." She chirruped happily, and then skipped away back up the stairs.

Anakin raised an eyebrow at this, and continued on down the hall with the others trailing after him, looking around at the nice house as they did so.

"Holy…" Anakin murmured, coming to a halt in the kitchen doorway, eyes wide as he took in the mess in front of him.

Luke's mouth dropped open as he peered over his father's shoulder, and Leia gasped. Obi-Wan just stood in a kind of shocked stupor.

A young girl who looked like she was in her early teens at the latest looked round and rolled her vivid blue eyes, flipping long chestnut hair out of her face as she went back to scrubbing a counter. "Col tried to make cookies."

"Ah," Anakin replied, "Well, that would explain all this then," He fixed his daughter with a penetrating stare. "What it doesn't explain is why he was able to get away with making all this mess."

The girl rolled her eyes again. "Alright, alright: I'm already being punished for not watching him when I was meant to be."

"And how exactly are you being punished?"

Luke watched as the girl scowled. "Mum's making me scrub the entire kitchen."

Anakin chuckled a little, but disguised it as a cough under his second-eldest daughter's disgusted look. "Well, since your little brother managed to wreck the entire kitchen when you were meant to be watching him for five minutes, I think that's a fitting punishment."

Suki – who had snuck up behind them without anyone noticing – giggled at the mess. "Col was all messy, too! He was all white!"

Anakin chuckled, "Well, given his fondness of flour, I don't think that's surprising, sweetheart."

The teenage girl nodded at Luke, Leia and Obi-Wan. "Who're they?"

"This is Luke and Leia." Anakin replied, and was vaguely amused when her mouth dropped open and she dropped the wet sponge with a soft _splat_.

Behind him, Luke heard Suki let out a little gasp, and then she began running in circles around them and doing a funny little dance while saying: "Oh my Force! Oh my Force!" over and over again, very fast.

"Allie, how's it coming in there?" A woman's voice came, and a second later a stunningly beautiful woman entered from the other door, holding a little boy in her arms. She froze when she caught sight of Luke and Leia, and her beautiful brown eyes widened.

She thrust the baby into her husband's arms, and then embraced her oldest children tightly.

Tears were once again streaming down both Luke and Leia's faces by now as they hugged their mother for the first time in their lives, closely followed by their littlest sister, who was still jumping around and begging for attention.

Allie hugged them next, dropping the sulky teenager attitude and grinning widely; pleased to meet the twins she had always longed to know.

"Oh, look at you both," Padme said, smoothing Luke's hair out of his eyes as tears trickled down her cheeks. "You look just like your father, honey."

"That's a good thing, right?" Luke asked with a smile, and his mother grinned back.

"Oh yes," She said, shooting a look at her husband. "That is a _very_ good thing – especially if you're trying to get a girlfriend." She added.

"_Mum_…" Luke whined playfully, and Padme laughed, embracing Leia once more.

"Oh, honey, you're so beautiful!"

Leia smiled a watery smile. "Thanks Mum. It's so good to meet you!" She hugged the woman tightly – a gesture which was eagerly returned.

Anakin grabbed Obi-Wan's collar as the older Jedi attempted to sneak out unnoticed.

"Not so fast, Kenobi."

Padme looked round at the sound of his name, and her eyes immediately hardened, fury flashing in the bright orbs.

"Kids, why don't you step outside a minute," She said.

"Oh, but _Mum_…" Allie and Suki started to complain, but Padme cut them off.

"No but's: now go. And take your brother, Allie."

Grumbling and complaining, the two girls slouched out of the room, Allie taking Col from her fathers' arms as she passed.

"Maybe you should move this into a room with less sharp objects, angel." Anakin murmured in Padme's ear, and only received a small scowl in return.

She turned on her heel and marched through to the living room – where there was also less breakable objects as well as less sharp – and a look from Anakin told Obi-Wan that he had no choice but to follow.

With a sigh, he resigned himself to his fate and quietly followed after her, seeming to draw into himself as his shoulders slumped and he seemed to shrink in size before their very eyes.

Anakin glanced around at the twins, and smiled slightly at their anxious expressions. "Don't worry about him: he'll be fine."

"But you said earlier that he might not survive…"

Anakin snorted. "I just said that to frighten him. She won't actually kill him: just injure him with words, probably. Your mother is a gifted politician, and she isn't afraid to put those skills to good use in any situation."

Luke nodded, looking slightly less alarmed. "So…are Allie, Suki and Col our siblings?"

Anakin smiled. "Yeah. You have another brother, too, but he's out at a friends at the moment – I think. Anyway, Allie's real name is Alyson, but she isn't very fond of it, and Col is Colin – but everyone just calls him Col for short. Then Kitster's nine – but he's usually just called Kit."

Leia nodded, and smiled. "They seem sweet."

"They are," Anakin replied as they walked down the hallway and out the front door again. "But don't let outward appearances fool you: they can be devious when they want to be, and have a mischievous streak a mile wide."

"They get that from you," Someone called across the road, and Anakin shot the man a withering look.

"Whatever, Pavan: like your kids are any better."

The man snorted. "Yeah, but _my_ kids aren't Skywalkers."

Anakin just rolled his eyes, and the trio continued on while the man went in the other direction.

"Who was that?" Luke asked, curious.

"Jax Pavan: he was a friend at the Jedi Temple. He has three kids with another old friend of mine – Laura, Matt, and Ayesha. Laura's probably about the nearest to you age wise, unless you count some of the younger younglings that we managed to get out of the Temple: she's sixteen, Matt's twelve, and Ayesha's seven. I'm sure you'll meet them later."

Leia nodded. "Where are we going?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to meet anymore of your family, before Padme's let eighteen years of frustration out of her system?"

Luke grinned. "Sounds good. Do we have anymore siblings we need to know about?"

"Besides Allie, Kit, Suki and Col? Nope. But you do have cousins, if you want to go see them."

Luke and Leia glanced at each other but there really was no question: "Yes," They both answered simultaneously, and Anakin grinned.

"Great."

He led them across the road to a house just a couple down from their own, and knocked on the door.

A middle-aged woman opened the door, and smiled when she saw Anakin. "Anakin! You're back: that was quick." She hugged him briefly, and he smiled back at her.

"Hey Sara." He turned to Luke and Leia. "Guys, this is Sara Nabrynski – Jax Pavan's wife. Sara, this is Luke and Leia."

Sara smiled at them, as she stood back to let them pass. "It's great to meet you," She said warmly, and Luke and Leia found themselves instantly liking her. She looked younger than her actual age, as they had found with the other adults they had seen around here: they supposed that a life time spent in physical activity helped keep you young – either that or Jedi just have great skin.

"You'll be here to see Aeyla, then?" She asked Anakin, and he nodded. "This way,"

She led them down a hallway similar to the one back at the Skywalker house, and into a spacious living room.

A young woman who looked just a couple of years younger than Anakin and who looked a lot like him looked up from the baby in her lap and smiled.

"Hey, Ani."

"Hey," He replied, smiling at the baby in her arms as she stood up. "And how's my favourite niece today?"

The woman – Aeyla, Leia assumed – laughed. "She's been fussy all morning: like she's been expecting something to happen." She smiled at Luke and Leia. "I guess she was right. I'm Aeyla – Anakin's sister."

Luke smiled back. "So you're our aunt?"

"Yep, I guess so." She smiled down at the wide-eyed baby in her arms. "This is Reecé – your youngest cousin."

Leia looked down at the baby, and felt her heart melt. "Oh, she's adorable!" She cooed at the baby, and Aeyla smiled. She was practically glowing: motherhood definitely suited her.

At that moment another little girl toddled in, holding tightly onto a young man who looked a lot like Sara's hands.

"Ma!" She cried, grinning toothlessly at Aeyla, and Aeyla smiled back.

"Sadie!" She mimicked the little girl, and the toddler let out an infectious laugh, which Luke and Leia instantly found themselves smiling at.

Anakin noticed their smiles, and grinned. "Wait till you meet Cin," He said quietly. "He's still in the terrible twos."

"Yeah, and he's three – he should be over it!" The young man grumbled, overhearing Anakin's comment, and then he smiled at the twins.

"You must be Luke and Leia: I'm Dan Nabrynski – Aeyla's husband. I guess that makes me your Uncle, too."

Leia smiled. "It's nice to meet you."

Dan smiled back. "And you as well, Princess. And you Luke."

Luke smiled back, "Nice to meet you, as well."

"So, I heard you helped blow up the Death Star?" He asked with a grin as he sat down on the comfortable sofa and bounced his eldest daughter on his knee while she giggled and chanted quietly to herself: "Ho'sy, ho'sy, don't you stop!"

Luke flushed a little. "Er…"

"He did," Leia said with a grin, smiling down at the little baby in her aunts arms. "Oh, she is just so cute!" She shot a slightly nervous but enquiring glance at the young mother. "May I?"

To her delight, Aeyla smiled. "Sure." She carefully handed her newest child to the young princess, and Leia smiled adoringly down at her littlest cousin, already feeling that this little girl would have a hold on her heart for ever, with those cute blue eyes, wide, toothless smile and her inquisitive gaze.

The baby gurgled up at her, and Leia's smile broadened. Little Reecé had just recently discovered the use of her own voice, and was anything but shy about using it.

As for Leia, she had thought before that having a family was something that she could never do, given her career, but now…looking down at little Reecé, she found herself hoping to have a baby of her own one day.

* * *

Obi-Wan swallowed nervously as he stood awkwardly in the centre of the Skywalker's comfortable sitting room, acutely feeling Padme's glare burning holes in his lowered head.

"Well?" Her voice was low and hard, and Obi-Wan could practically feel the anger emanating from everything about her. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Obi-Wan shrugged miserably, suddenly feeling like a little kid again, being told off by a very strict – not to mention scary! – master.

"Sorry?" He said tentatively, and Padme's eyes flashed angrily.

"SORRY?!" She yelled. "YOU STEAL MY CHILDREN FROM ME AND ALL YOU CAN SAY IS _SORRY_?!"

Obi-Wan gulped visibly while Padme took a deep, soothing breath to calm herself down.

"But I really am, Padme." He said quietly, regaining some of his courage. "I thought that you were dead – your vital signs, they were so low! – and then there was the fact that I thought Anakin had turned to the Dark Side –"

"Yes, and why _did_ you think that, Kenobi?" Padme asked coldly. "You _knew_ Anakin: how could you possibly believe something like that?!" He heard the desperation in her words, the longing to have been able to raise her oldest children with her husband, and it made Obi-Wan feel even more lousy.

"I am truly sorry, Padme – words cannot properly express how sorry! But I know that sorry isn't good enough, and I don't know how I'll make it up to you, but I swear that one day I will."

Padme scowled at him, and he knew he was in for a long berating, from a very skilled politician…

* * *

Two hours later Obi-Wan walked into Ava's café with Padme to meet the others.

Anakin raised an eyebrow at his wife, seeing that she was slightly less angry, and assumed that they had sorted out their differences – well, mostly. His wife was obviously still not happy with Obi-Wan, and would no doubt take some time to forgive him fully, but for now they were on speaking terms at least.

Padme smiled at her children: Anakin had picked Allie, Suki and Col up on the way to the café with his sister and her family.

Aeyla leapt to her feet as Obi-Wan came over to their group of tables pushed together, and scowled ferociously.

"You!" She snarled, and stalked angrily up to him, fury emanating from her every pore. "How the hell could you do that?!" She drew back her bunched fist to strike him, but a sharp cry from Reecé stopped her. The baby had sensed her mothers' anger, and reacted because of it.

Aeyla sent a vicious glower at the Jedi Master, before picking up her baby and rocking her gently. "You're bloody lucky Reecé is here, or else you'd have one hell of a shiner."

Obi-Wan regarded her curiously. "Who are you?"

"None, of your business." She replied snappily, shushing her baby.

Obi-Wan sighed. "Must everyone be so hostile?" He muttered under his breath, and Dan snorted.

"Well, what did you expect?! Us all to welcome you back with open arms, after all you've done to this family?"

Obi-Wan looked confused for a moment. "This family? You speak as though you are a part of it, Nabrynski."

"Well, I am, _Kenobi_," He growled back, cradling Sadie on his lap as she watched on in interest. "You've met my wife, right?" he added sweetly, and Obi-Wan's eyes widened as his gaze flickered to the young woman who had come so close to hitting him, and who sent him a powerful glower in return now.

"Yes, that's all very well and good," He replied sarcastically. "But you being married does not make you a part of the Skywalker family."

"True, but it does since he's married to _my sister_." Anakin replied, and the esteemed Jedi Master's mouth fell open comically, as Padme took as seat next to her husband and relieved Allie of her youngest brother.

"You have a _sister_?"

"You know he does, slemo," Serra spat. "Remember? I told you back on Yavin."

Obi-Wan swallowed, as he did indeed remember – he had just hoped that no one else would. _It's my worst nightmare come to pass,_ He thought to himself, only half joking. _Multiple Skywalker's running around, creating havoc throughout the galaxy._

"Ah," He said out loud. "Yes, well, now that you mention it; I do remember you saying something along those lines. So…what's your name?" He asked, attempting to lighten the mood.

The young woman glowered at him for a moment, but then sighed. "Aeyla," She grunted. "My name's Aeyla."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Aeyla," Judging by Aeyla's glare, however, she did not return the sentiment.

Obi-Wan sighed, and awkwardly took a seat next to Captain Solo – the young man and his wookie companion had been watching on in interest as he was severely berated and almost walloped by the Skywalkers.

"So, are you guys friends now?" Luke asked his mother, and she smiled thinly.

"I wouldn't say 'friends', dear, no." She replied. "More like…acquaintances."

Her son grinned. "Well, it's a start I suppose."

Obi-Wan turned hesitantly to Anakin. "So…are we OK now?"

Anakin regarded him for a moment with a cool stare. "That depends,"

"On what?" His former mentor and former friend asked, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"How you do out here, I suppose."

"What?" Obi-Wan asked, confused as to what he meant.

"You can either adapt to our way of life and stay, or you can cling to your precious Code and leave: simple as that."

"But where would I go?"

Anakin shrugged, as if he didn't really care. "Whatever hole you crawled out of, I suppose."

Suki frowned. "Daddy, I thought you said we weren't allowed to say that to people?" She asked innocently, and Padme hurried to placate her.

"You're not, honey: Daddy was just being very bad."

"Does he have to go sit on the naughty step?" She asked, and Luke saw Anakin hide a smile, while Padme seemed to be struggling to hold one off her face as well.

"No, sweetie: but he should."

Anakin pouted at his wife, playing along. "Ah, you're so _mean_!"

Suki giggled, as he sounded just like her older brother when he did that. Serra, Sara, Dan, Aeyla, Padme and Allie also stifled their chuckles, while the others were just confused and perplexed.

Anakin spotted his daughters confused frown, and smiled slightly. "You'll understand later," He promised, and she smiled.

"Well, I look forward to it."

Obi-Wan cleared his throat, knowing that he might cause a little strife with his next question – it was, after all, a touchy subject.

"Anakin?" He began cautiously, and the younger man's head swivelled in his direction, one eyebrow raised questioningly. "You know how you didn't turn to the Dark Side," Obi-Wan saw his former Padawan's eyes flash with anger, and hurried to finish his question. "So, since you're not Vader…who is?"

An unnatural stillness fell over the table as those who knew the truth exchanged an uneasy glance.

"That's…not the best thing to talk about right now," Anakin said hesitantly, his eyes flickering to Allie and Suki, and Obi-Wan suddenly understood that they didn't know: whoever Vader was – or rather, had been – their parents clearly hadn't told their children.

Allie frowned. "You guys knew Vader before he was in that suit, didn't you."

Anakin and Aeyla exchanged an uneasy look, but didn't reply.

Allie looked between the two of them, her frown deepening. "Oh, come _on_, Dad! Why won't you tell us?"

"Because it's none of your business," Her father replied in a tone that Allie knew she mustn't argue with. "Who he was before doesn't matter: he's a Sith now, and there is no redeeming him. Not with the amount of darkness in his soul."

"So…was he a Jedi? Y'know…before?" Allie asked hesitantly, and Anakin sighed.

"No, Al: he wasn't a Jedi. Now let it go."

The girl sighed, but relented, knowing she shouldn't push her father much further, unless she wanted to be grounded _and_ forced into a gruelling training session. She usually loved training to fight and learning to use the Force, but her father could be cruel with his workouts when he wanted to punish her – she knew this from past experiences…_lots_ of past experiences. Her mother had come up with a good way for her to control her unruly temper when she was a little girl, too: every time she lost her temper or got overly angry at something, her mother would give her a chore to do that she knew her daughter hater. At the time Allie had been resentful for it, but she soon came to realise that she was losing her temper less often, as she wanted to avoid doing all the extra chores.

Now Obi-Wan was really intrigued. Who was Vader? And how had Anakin known him.

A young-ish woman came over to their table with a sunny smile and sparkling green eyes. Her skin was olive coloured, and she had a slightly exotic look about her.

"Hey there, guys," She said, with an infectious smile. "How are you all doing?"

Anakin smiled back at her, glad of the distraction. "Hello, Ava. We're alright; and yourself?"

She smiled. "Oh, I'm great."

Obi-Wan noticed that the woman had a sort of glow about her, and wondered who she was. Wait, had Anakin said Ava? This must be the woman who owned the café – and Tup's wife.

Padme smiled at the woman. "Hey, Ava: how's the baby?"

Ava smiled brightly, and laid a hand on her still flat stomach tenderly. "Baby's fine, Padme – but mighty hungry! This baby's going to have some strange eating habits, if these cravings are anything to go by!"

Padme laughed. "Oh, they'll pass soon enough," She smiled. "I used to get them all the time when I was pregnant."

Dan rolled his eyes. "Jeez, I remember Aeya's: bloody nightmare." He grumbled, and his wife stomped on his foot – hard. Wincing, Dan turned back to Ava. "How's Tup holding up?"

Ava laughed. "Oh, he's going crazy: out of his mind," She snorted with laughter, "It's hilarious, actually."

Aeyla rolled her eyes. "Oh, it'll stop being funny after a while," She said, with a mock glare at her husband. "Then it just gets annoying, what with them hovering around you all the time – especially in the later months,"

"Yeah," Padme agreed, and both Dan and Anakin glowered at their spouses, recognising the not-so-subtle jabs.

Ava laughed. "Well, I'll keep that in mind." She glanced over as the door to her café opened and some more people came in. "Oh, well: I'd better get going. Got customers to see to!" She shot them a grin and a wink, before leaving, giving the children a cheerful wave as Suki said goodbye heartily, waving manically until Padme finally managed to calm her down.

"So," Obi-Wan said after a few moments of silence. "Tup's going to be a father."

Anakin chuckled. "I know: weird thought, isn't it?"

Obi-Wan chuckled, and things almost felt like they had before he had made the biggest mistake of his life as the two of them shared an amused smile.

The moment passed, however, and that feeling of underlying resentment returned. Obi-Wan quickly looked away again as the smile faded from Anakin's eyes.

* * *

The next stop that the Skywalkers and co. made was the villages B&B. Being in Wild Space, there was never many visitors to Apliria, but people often visited from other villages, though the couple who ran the one in this village – Boil and his wife Rashima – rarely charged for their services, especially not for people they knew well and who visited regularly -so, in other words, other Jedi Generals who often visited to discuss battle strategies and such at their main base of operations on the outskirts of the village.

Obi-Wan, Han, Chewie and Ferus were all going to stay there, while Luke and Leia were given rooms in the Skywalker household. R2-D2 was overjoyed to see Anakin and Ahsoka again, and even the Clones. He and 3-PO came back to the Skywalker household with them, where 3-PO's erased memory was returned to him, so that he now knew exactly who they and most of the other Jedi were.

As Obi-Wan lay in the comfortable bed in his single room at the B&B, he couldn't help but smile a little. To be able to watch as Luke and Leia met their parents was a true blessing, and one he had never thought he would get the pleasure of seeing, given who he thought that Anakin was. To see Anakin and Padme so happy to have their eldest children back – even though their separation _ had_ been his fault – was truly wonderful, and Obi-Wan wouldn't trade it for the world.

Well…maybe he would trade it to go back in time and change what he had done all those years ago, but then again he would gladly trade _anything_ to fix that particular past mistake.

He found himself enjoying the company of Allie and her little sister Suki as the six year old held fort at the table at the café with her various antics and her older sister's embarrassed exasperation. And even little Col, who seemed to have inherited his father's mischievous spirit that was becoming apparent even at his young age – as evidence from his flour party earlier when trying to make cookies.

He had yet to meet Kitster, as he was sleeping over at a friend's house for the night, and wouldn't be back until around lunchtime the next day.

Obi-Wan rolled over onto his other side, and found himself hoping that with a new day would come new experiences, and hopefully Anakin and Padme would have forgiven him even a little after a night…

* * *

**So, how was it? Plz leave me a review letting me know what you think so far. And if anyone wants to pm me or anything with any questions or anything, then feel free, and I'll answer everything as best I can without giving the storyline away.**

**Thank you as well to the others who reviewed the last chapter: I know I said only two did at the start, but a couple more have since I started typing this one.**

**Anyway, I'll get the next update up as soon as I can, but it'll probably be after Can't Escape the Past, and won't be updated as regularly since this is just a bit of a side project and a change from my Padme-Clovis-Marriage series.**

**:)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the couple of reviews, sorry for the delay, and here's the next chapter…**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

Leia Organa – recently Leia Organa _Skywalker_ – awoke in a comfortable bed in an unfamiliar room, sunlight streaming in through the blinds. She rolled over onto her other side to get away from the light, and smiled as memories of the day before came back to her. The newly reunited Skywalker's had had their first dinner together as a family – minus Kitster, of course – and Leia had enjoyed herself immensely. Even though she had only just met them, she felt a connection to each and every one of them – from mischievous little Col, to her warrior father – and couldn't believe that she had once felt the worst about her parents. When the couple who had raised her – Bail and Breeha Organa of Alderaan – had told her she was adopted, she used to make up stories all the time when she was a little girl, imagining different scenarios about why her parents had given her up – from her mother had been unable to look after her (which had happened to a friend of hers who had been taken into foster care because her father had heft her mother when he found out she was pregnant, leaving the young woman who had been no more than a girl herself to cope on her own) to her father was on the run from the law (which, now she thought about it, wasn't actually that far from the truth).

Sometimes, though, when she wold be feeling particularly angry or upset over something, she would think the worst of the couple who had sired her, and would even go as far as to hate them – well, as much as a young child _can_ hate. This wouldn't last very long, however, and she would always regret it afterwards.

Smiling, Leia climbed out of bed, pulling on her pale blue rob over her long white night-dress, and, feet clad in soft slippers, padded her way down to the kitchen for breakfast.

Her mother looked round and smiled at her as she came in, and Leia was glad to see that she hadn't bothered to get dressed yet either.

"Morning Sweetheart,"

"Morning, Mum."

Leia leant back against one of the kitchen counters and watched her mother go about making breakfast for her family. It was such an ordinary household sight, but it was one that Leia found herself longing to have known – not with her adopted mother (the Queen of Alderaan), but with her _real_ mother, the woman who stood before her now. She had had a great childhood on Alderaan, but, having watched her parents the previous evening with her younger siblings, she found herself pointlessly wishing that she hadn't been separated from her parents and twin brother at birth. It was silly, she knew, as she could never change the past, but she couldn't help it.

"It must have been surprising when you were told that Luke was your twin brother," Padme said with a smile as she looked round from the pot of numa eggs she was scrambling, snapping Leia out of her thoughts as she did so.

"What…oh, yes: yes, it was."

Padme chuckled a little. "So, how were you told? Was it Kenobi?" She may have forgiven the esteemed Jedi Master a little, but there was still a long way to go.

"No, it was actually Master Allie and Katooni,"

"Strass?"

"Yes. We had just found out that Dad was Luke's father, and Katooni said that he was mine as well. Of course, that led to the inevitable question of if he slept with more than one woman at the same time, and that's when we were told that you were our mother. I was so surprised! I remember I used to read all about you when I was studying politics as a child – you were kind of like my role model," She admitted, and Padme smiled.

"Well, I'm glad to hear it," She joked, and the two women shared a laugh.

"I imagine it must have been kind of surprising to find out that Anakin Skywalker was your father, too," Padme mentioned as she dished the scrambled eggs and nerf-bacon onto plates.

Leia chuckled. "Yes, it was. You should have seen the look on Captain Solo's face – apparently he was his childhood idol."

Padme giggled a little as she brought the plates through – with Leia's help - and set the table with their cutlery. "I'm sure Ani will be glad to hear it."

"Did he have many fans, then?" Leia asked curiously, and Padme chuckled again.

"Oh, yes," She said, amused. "And he hated it. It gets annoying though, I suppose; all that fame for being a good soldier."

"He saved millions of lives though, didn't he?" Leia asked as she sat some apple juice down for Suki, Allie and Col – Allie hated coffee.

"Oh yes, there's no denying that. But a lot of the fame he got was helped out by his looks – the amount of fan-girls he had out there!"

Leia giggled: yes, her father was indeed handsome, and she could only imagine the amount of attention that bad-boy look got him. "Wasn't that hard for you, though? I mean, you were married to the hero of the Republic, but you couldn't tell anyone,"

"At time, yes," Padme replied, brewing some coffee for herself, her husband and her oldest twin children. "Especially if, say, we were at a political function. Your father always got a lot of attention from the female Senators – whether he wanted it or not! – and the males would want to be seen in his company, to show off in some cases, and then some others trying to prove that they were better than him, so neither of us would be able to spend much time together -it would look a bit suspicious if we danced together all night, though, wouldn't it. Sometimes we were lucky if we even got one dance."

Leia smiled slightly as she took a freshly brewed cup of coffee and took her place at the table, nodding her understanding while Padme popped her head out the kitchen door.

"Breakfast!"

Coming back into the dining room, Padme took her own place at the table and began to eat with Leia. They were soon joined by Suki and Allie, and then a yawning Luke with his hair all rumpled and messy from sleep. Anakin entered last, carrying a grinning Col, who he plonked in his toddler-chair.

Padme sat next to her youngest son and watched as he carefully, meticulously used his small, rubbery utensils to spoon his eggs into his mouth and smear it all over his face and arms in the process, before slurping noisily out of his lidded, double-handled cup.

Luke was looking slightly more awake now after a few gulps of scalding coffee, and he tucked into his breakfast with the healthy Skywalker appetite.

"So, how did everyone sleep?" Anakin asked, breaking the comfortable silence that had descended upon them while they ate.

"Good," Luke mumbled around a mouthful of egg and bacon, and Suki gave him a scathing look.

"_Don't_ talk with your mouth full, you plonker: it's not polite."

Anakin chocked on his coffee, and Leia let out a very un-ladylike snort of laughter before she could stop herself. Allie chuckled a little too, while Padme tried desperately to hold her own laughter back in both her face and her tone.

"No, it's not polite, Suki," She agreed sternly. "But neither is calling someone older than you a plonker."

Suki frowned, her sweet young face the picture of intense contemplation. "So…I can call someone _younger_ than me a plonker?"

Besides Leia, her father was trying desperately not to laugh, and so was her twin brother.

Padme sighed. "No, Suki: you are not allowed to call _anyone_ a plonker, alright? It's not polite."

The little girl let out an exaggeratedly weary sigh. "OK, Mummy. But Daddy called Mr Alexander a plonker the other day."

"I only called him that because you were there," Anakin muttered under his breath, and his wife threw him an exasperated look even as Leia thought that he would probably have called this 'Mr Alexander' whoever he was something much worse had her little sister _not_ been there.

"Well, that was very naughty of him, and he won't do it again, _will_ you Daddy?" Padme replied, giving her husband a hard stare.

"No, Mummy." Anakin replied, dead-pan, and Allie snorted with laughter again, while Luke held back his own smile: clearly the Skywalker household wasn't nearly as serious as the Lars' had been, what with his Uncle Owen.

"Who's Mr Alexander?" Luke asked curiously, and Allie rolled her eyes and scowled. Clearly _she_ didn't like him either.

"He's just this pr – _really_ annoying guy who lives around town," She said, her eyes darting guiltily to her mother as she quickly changed what she was going to say, even as Padme raised a stern eyebrow at her. She didn't really mind Allie using such language as long as it wasn't _too_ rude, but she didn't like it in front of the younger Skywalker children. She knew, however, that she could not shelter Allie from such language, as she spent a lot of time training to fight with her father – well, her master more, but she spent a lot of time with Anakin, too – and he wasn't exactly known for his polite language. She supposed she couldn't blame him, though: he had been a young slave growing up in the rougher parts of a space port on Tatooine when he was a child, and then he had been a soldier for years after – foul language just came with the territory. And it made Anakin who he was, anyway, and she wouldn't change him for the universe. She, however, was a former Senator, and she tried to pass on her polite manners and love of politics to her children.

Needless to say, it hadn't exactly worked.

Oh, they weren't too bad with the manners, but it was already apparent that Allie took after her father in that she craved the adventure and the adrenaline, and – and this one was a key factor to Anakin and Padme to see which of them their child took after the most – she preferred aggressive negotiations to sitting down and discussing things like grown ups.

"He's one of the ones who were here long before the Jedi came," Allie continued her explanation of who this 'Mr Alexander' was. "And he wasn't exactly happy about them coming here. He didn't kick up too much of a fuss, though, from what I've heard, but he did make his distaste known. He can mostly be civil to us now, but he _really_ doesn't like Dad."

Leia raised an eyebrow at her father. "Why?"

Anakin shrugged. "Guess I just have that effect on people." He replied with a grin, and she couldn't help but smile back: he had a very nice grin, after all, with a hint of danger to it that her mother must have found _very_ appealing when they were younger – actually, she probably still did, but Leia was _not_ going to think about what her parents got up to when their kids weren't around: it was definitely not something you thought of at breakfast with them, either!

Seeing Luke's confused frown, Padme smiled and hurried to explain a little more. "Your father's one of these people who there is no middle ground with," She shrugged, "You either love him, or you hate him."

"Hey, that's not true!" Anakin protested. "Plenty of people don't love me, but they don't hate me, either!"

Padme rolled her eyes, but smiled a little. "Yes, I know, dear." She said patiently, and Leia spotted Allie hold off a snigger. "But you're near enough that kind of person."

Anakin grinned at her. "So, which one are you?" He all but purred, and Leia almost chocked on her coffee: oh, they were _not_ flirting, surely!

But Padme just laughed and gave him a mysterious smile, before Allie butted in again.

"Anyway," She said. "Alexander likes to fancy himself as something of a military expert, but, really, he couldn't nail a storm trooper if it was standing still two feet away from him!" Luke quirked an eyebrow at that: surely he couldn't be _that bad_ a shot! "He hangs around at the main military operations part of the Temple here, and just generally gets in everyone's way."

"Oh, Allie, he's not that bad," Padme scolded, and then turned to see identical incredulous and slightly disbelieving eyebrows being raised at her by her husband and second oldest daughter, and she rolled her eyes. "Oh, alright then, maybe he is." She gave in. "But you still can't go around saying things like that about people!" She spoke up, spotting Allie's gleeful grin, and her daughter scowled at her.

"Why not? Not like he's here to hear me."

Anakin chuckled quietly: his daughter was indeed a lot like him.

* * *

Far across the galaxy, Emperor Palpatine – known too few as Darth Sidious – was confused. And when he was confused, he got angry, because he did not like being confused – no he did not.

And why was he confused, you might ask? He was confused because an unknown enemy fighter squadron had suddenly turned up and helped out the Rebellion, and he was angry because they had destroyed his Death Star.

He let out a scream of fury and hurled his glass of corellian brandy at the wall, where it shattered upon impact. The Sith Lord's eyes bled yellow as he let his fury consume him, opening himself to the Force and reaching out to his no good apprentice…

* * *

In another system on route to Coruscant and his displeased Master, Darth Vader awoke from his slumber suddenly and let out a cry of pure agony that filled his egg-shaped life support system. He could feel his Master's will pushing down on his from across the stars, aggravating his pain so that it was as excruciating as the day he had received those injuries so long ago on Mustafar. When his own sister had betrayed him, and had almost cost him his life.

He felt immense hatred boil up inside of him at the thought of his twin sister and older brother, and also directed at his punishing Master. It wasn't _his_ fault that there was a rogue fighter squadron out there! How was he supposed to have known?!

But he would find them, Vader vowed as the pain continued to rage around his body like an angry, fire=breathing dragon. He would find those who were responsible, and he would make them pay. And if it was Anakin Skywalker that he had sensed leading those fighters…then he would hunt him down with every last breath in his body, and he would mutilate him and that kriffing sister of his, damage them beyond repair before finally killing them – after making them watch as he tortured and killed everything they held dear, of course.

With those thoughts, Vader rode out the pain, glad once again that his life support was sound-proof, thus meaning that none of the troopers r officers on board would hear his screams and moans of agony.

* * *

Three hours after their enjoyable first breakfast with their family, the Skywalker twins were strolling down a long, picturesque street with the sun shining down comfortably on them, heading towards a large, important looking building that Anakin said housed the main military base, as well as the physical training part of the new Jedi Temple. That was located here so that everyone had access to the gym and could come along to the hand-to-hand combat training classes, as well as learn to fight with several various weapons – whether they were Jedi or not.

Allie had come along with them, as well as their father, who worked there anyway – well, mostly.

"So, will you show me those moves today, Dad?" Allie questioned, practically bubbling over with anticipation as they neared the colossal building. It was a strange contrast to the sarcastic teenager with a sharp tongue who Luke had grown to know over the past evening and morning, but he found himself liking her even more.

Anakin chuckled. "And what moves would they be?"

"The ones you took out that bounty hunter the other week with."

The smile vanished from Anakin's face. "No, Allie." He replied sharply. "I'm not teaching you those – not until you're older anyway, but don't tell your mother I said that."

Leia smiled slightly at that. "Why not?" She asked curiously, and Anakin glanced over at her with a slight smile.

"Padme's…more of a pacifist, but not quite, if you know what I mean. She prefers handling situations with words rather than violence, but she's not afraid to use a blaster if she needs to. She's a great shot, but prefers peaceful negotiations."

"In complete contrast to Dad, of course, who prefers aggressive negotiations," Allie piped in with a grin, and Anakin smiled back at his daughter.

"Aggressive Negotiation?" Luke questioned. "What's that?"

"Negotiations with a lightsabre." Allie explained with a grin, and Leia chuckled.

"I'm guessing you prefer those too?" She asked, amused, and Allie shot her a wicked grin.

"But of course."

"And that's why you are not to tell your mother that I said I might teach you those moves someday." Anakin brought the conversation back on track, suddenly serious. "She worries enough about you learning to fight, but she knows that you need to. She doesn't particularly like that I know all these different fighting styles, but she doesn't say anything because I learned them long before I married her, and she knows it's saved my life on countless occasions,"

"All the more reason for you to teach me them," Allie pleaded, but Anakin just gave her a slight smile.

"And are you going to be the one to bring that up with your mother? No, Allie: I'll teach you when you're older. For now, just focus on the moves you learn as a Jedi, with some others thrown in, alright?"

Allie sighed, but nodded. "Yeah, alright," She muttered, disappointed, and Anakin reached out to ruffle her hair as best he could, given that it was tighed back in a long braid.

"I promise you'll learn one day, Allie. Just not today. Besides," He added in a brighter voice. "I thought you were wanting to show Luke and Leia around?"

She brightened up at that, and grinned at her big brother and sister. "Yep, I guess I was. So, where are we heading first?"

Before anyone got the chance to speak, however, an aging man interrupted them.

"Ah, General Skywalker, I see you have returned. They didn't manage to shoot you down then," He sniffed, and Luke bristled as he caught the note of disappointment in the older man's voice, but a glance from Anakin warned him not to rise to it.

"Yes, I have returned." He answered smoothly. "And did you really expect us to lose any fighters?" His tone was condescending, and Allie had to hold off a grin as the man who she and her father both loathed bristled in indignation, but continued on nonetheless.

"And I see you have brought back two more brats. Tell me, boy, just who the hell are you?" He demanded of Luke, but Anakin answered for him.

"He's my son, and I suggest you get out of our way, as we have things to do." His voice was dangerously calm, and Allie once again had to hold off a giggle at the look on the man's face as her father brushed past him, leading the way up the stair of the building they were heading for. Her father could be scary when he wanted to be, and he wasn't even trying that time – and Allie knew that from experience. She had seen her father just utter his _name_ to a small group of storm troopers once, and they had turned and _run_, probably to report an alive Jedi to their superiors and, more importantly, the Emperor, but Anakin had brutally cut them down within a matter of seconds, preventing them from doing so.

Allie finally let out her chuckle as they walked through the impressive double doors. "He's a prat." She informed them flatly, and Anakin chuckled.

"That he is," He agreed calmly, the hints of a grin tugging at his lips. "But don't let your mother catch you saying that."

"Oh, she thinks he is too." Allie assured him, and Anakin grinned back at his second oldest daughter.

"Well then, don't let Suki hear you saying that – and don't let you mother hear you letting Suki hear that!" He said quickly, and with a hint of urgency/ panic in his voice. "She'd _actually_ shoot me if you did."

Luke chuckled. "You scared of her, then?" He teased, and Anakin snorted.

"Hell, yeah. Give me Sith Lords and Storm-Troopers any day."

Luke and Leia laughed, and Allie grinned along with them.

* * *

Anakin left Luke and Leia with Allie while he went off to do some military thing quickly, which suited the sibling's just fine. Although only having met her the previous evening, both twins found themselves already forming an unbreakable connection with their little sister, with her sarcastic wit and bubbly personality at times. Her moods contrasted wildly with each other, but neither Luke nor Leia minded in the slightest. They found it amusing to watch her chew someone who had annoyed her out, or simply fling a sarcastic insult back over her shoulder at someone who had taunted her as they passed. It was already obvious that she took after both of her parents: she had Padme's way with words, but Anakin's unnerving ability to come up with even the most impressive of insults.

The first place she took them was the gym, and even Leia – who wasn't really all that physical despite what she had to be – was impressed.

It was a huge room, split into various dojos and practice rings. There was even a small room off the side with droids programmed to fight like Imperial Storm Troopers who you could go head to head with and test your skills against, as well as seeker droids for the training Jedi. There were weapons lining the walls, as well: ones for hand to hand combat, as Allie said that there was a fire-arms training room down the hall a bit.

"So, can anyone come here?" Luke asked, and Allie grinned.

"Yep. Well, mainly folk who actually fight in battles, but you two will be allowed, because you're Jedi – or you have the potential to be, anyway."

Leia started. "But I'm not like Luke – I can't feel the Force."

Allie rolled her eyes. "Sure you can," She said easily. "Haven't you always been able to feel what others feel, and guess what they're thinking from those? Well, that's untrained Force abilities right there – helps when you're a Senator, huh?" She mused thoughtfully, and Leia looked at her in surprise.

"You mean…I could be a Jedi?"

Allie chuckled, and rolled her eyes again – she did that a lot, Luke had noticed. "Yeah, sure. Why don't you ask Dad if you can get someone to teach you?"

Leia looked uncertain. "I don't know," She muttered. "I'm not sure I could do it – and besides," She added quickly. "I prefer the political side of the war than the physical."

"Yeah," Allie grinned. "But you're not afraid to get your hands dirty, either. But Dad said that even back in the days before and during the Clone Wars there were many Jedi like that. You can still learn to fight, but you could always just ask to start out on some basic stuff. Y'know, like meditation and moving objects with your mind," Her brow furrowed. "But that can be _hard_."

"What can?"

Leia jumped as a male voice sounded next to them, for some reason that even she wasn't sure about feeling strangely guilty.

She turned to see a tall, aging black Jedi coming towards them with a smile on his lined face.

Allie grinned brightly back at him. "Hey, Master Windu!" She greeted. "I was just showing Luke and Leia the gym."

"Oh, Force, not _more_ Skywalkers," Another man groaned, approaching them with their father, and Anakin rolled his eyes.

"Hey!"

"What? I'd feel sorry for the Masters at the Temple if they were still around."

"Yes, because you're kids are absolute _angels_," Anakin retorted, and Windu rolled his eyes.

"Enough," He sighed, and the two men immediately stopped, sending him a wicked grin from both directions. They were alike in many ways, apparently.

"Sorry, Master," The second, younger man said, not sounding in the slightest contrite, and Windu had to hold off another eye roll.

"Yes, well: anyway," He turned and smiled at Luke and Leia. "I am Jedi Master Mace Windu," He introduced. "It is my honour to welcome you here."

The younger man rolled his eyes, and shoved Windu aside. "Oh, move, you boring old man," He sighed, and Windu raised an eyebrow even as he smiled brilliantly at the twins.

"Hey," He greeted, and Leia found herself instantly smiling back. "I'm Tru Veld – and, yeah, it _is_ good to have you here, but _honestly_: who says 'it is my honour –"

He was cut off as Windu cleared his throat. "Anyway," Mace said, speaking over him and receiving a scowl in return. "What was it you were saying was hard earlier, young one?" He asked, smiling kindly, and Allie blushed a little.

"Moving the bigger stuff with your mind." She muttered, and Windu turned to Anakin with a slightly disapproving look, who shrugged.

"Oh, leave her alone: she's a kid! We can't _all_ be Temple prodigies, and I, personally, prefer life out here to growing up in the Temple."

"Yeah, me too," Tru agreed, and he sounded like he really meant it. "I mean, the kids get to be _kids_, for one thing."

Windu pursed his lips. "I wasn't aware there was a problem with the way younglings were treated at the Temple." He said coldly, and Anakin snorted.

"Well, there was." He said bluntly, and Leia looked at her father, something like admiration rearing up inside of her. "You treated them like adults who were just slightly thick, for one thing!"

Windu frowned, but knew that now was not the time to get into a fight – especially not about this particular subject.

"Yes, well," He muttered. "I have things to do: good day." He nodded once to Luke and Leia, and then left without another word.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Allie snorted. "You really don't like him, do you."

Anakin smiled slightly. "We like him better now than we did back in the old days." He said gently, and, seeing the twins confused frowns, explained a little further. "Windu was always one of the stricter Masters and, well, he didn't exactly like us very much." He admitted, and Tru chuckled.

"Well, what did you expect? You were constantly getting into trouble when we were Padawan's."

Anakin raised an eyebrow. "And you weren't?"

"And then, when you were a knight, he didn't approve of the way you led your battalion." Tru continued, ignoring him. "And then –"

"Yes, alright, we get the picture," Anakin snapped, rolling his eyes. "So he didn't like me: big deal."

"Did he know you were married to Mum?" Allie asked curiously, but wasn't at all surprised when Anakin shook his head.

"No. But, as you can imagine, he wasn't very pleased when he found out."

"How did he find out?" Luke asked curiously, but Anakin just shrugged.

"I'll tell you some other time, but the short version is that, even though Padme tried to hide the fact that she was pregnant with you two, she was still very obviously pregnant, and then there was the whole thing with Vader, and things just…come out."

Luke nodded thoughtfully, but knew there was a lot more to the story than that. However, he didn't push his father on it, as he could see that it was obviously not the best topic to discuss in the middle of a gym.

"Anyway, I'd better get going," Tru said after a moment of silence. "It was nice meeting the two of you." He added, smiling at the twins, and Leia couldn't help but smile back.

"It was nice meeting you too, Master Veld." She replied, and he chuckled.

"Just Tru, Princess." He said, his eyes glinting with amusement. "Anyway, I'll see you later." He added to Anakin, who nodded. With one last smile to the twins and a playful wink for Allie, Tru Veld walked away.

"He's…interesting." Leia timidly settled on, and Anakin chuckled.

"Yeah, he is." He admitted with a grin. "But don't let that fool you: he's a good warrior. He was always one of the Jedi who were more open to actively fighting to protect the Republic during the Clone Wars, as opposed to those who clung desperately to the belief that we were 'keepers of the peace – not warriors'."

"So was Windu one of the ones who hated violence, then?" Luke asked, and Anakin smiled, pleased with the boy's ability to catch on quickly.

"Yeah, he was. Many of the older Jedi were, while a lot of the younger ones, who were tired with the Code mostly, were more open to fighting."

"Let me guess," Leia said, amused. "You were one of them."

Anakin laughed. "Well, yes," He admitted. "I can't say I had much respect for the Code, even back then,"

"Well, duh," Allie said with a role of her eyes. "You broke just about every rule in it."

"I did not!" Anakin protested, but she just rolled her eyes.

Before anyone else could speak, however, they were interrupted by a voice calling out: "Master Skywalker!"

Anakin turned, and smiled at the young woman who looked to be part twi'lek, part nautolian, with blue skin the same shade as Aeyla Secura's, and multiple lekku down her back, as well as gills on the side of her neck. She had wide blue eyes – again like Aeyla's – and a wide smile that looked a lot like Master Fisto's.

"Hey, Kira." He greeted warmly. "But how many times have I told you not to call me that?"

She blushed, but didn't comment, instead powering on with whatever it was she had come over here to speak to him about. "Sorry Mast – Anakin. Anyway, I was wondering. Can I come up with you guys the next time you do an air strike?"

Anakin's lips twitched, but he managed to keep the smile off his face as he folded his arms across his chest and looked at her seriously. "That depends." He said, and she looked up at him with a little sliver of fear as to what his answer would be.

"On what?"

"On what your parents said before you came to ask me the same thing."

Kira seemed to deflate before their eyes. "But, if you talked to them-!"

Anakin sighed, and laid a hand gently on her shoulder. "Kira, if they've said no, then you have to respect their wishes. Anyway, it won't be long until you can join a squadron yourself."

She sighed. "Yeah, I know." She said gloomily. "But Luke went up to destroy the Death Star!" She tried again in vain to change his mind, and Luke blushed at the revelation that everyone here apparently knew about that, while Anakin just sighed again.

"Yes, Luke did go up." He conceded. "But that was his decision, and neither me nor his mother were there to say no, so it really doesn't matter."

"But he's even younger than me!" She argued, and Anakin gave her a gentle smile.

"Kira, you know the rules. I didn't make them, and I can't change them either, before you ask. Now, why don't you use this time to hone your piloting skills so that, when the time comes, you will be guaranteed a spot on one of the squadrons?"

She sighed again, and nodded. "Yeah, alright." She muttered, and gave him a half smile. "Thanks, Master."

Anakin chuckled. "No problem, Kira. And I am sorry, you know. Besides: you're a good pilot already, so you should be alright when you can enter the challenges in a couple of years."

She nodded, then smiled at him once more, before letting them move past her and go on their way.

"Who was that?" Leia asked curiously. The girl had looked around her own age, and she was wondering if they could be friends or something.

"Kira Fisto – Kit and Aeyla's daughter." Her father replied. Ah, that explained the resemblance then. "She's determined to get up on the skies, and has always dreamed of being in a fighter squadron – one of the ones that deal the most harm to the Empire, anyway." He added with a light chuckle as they stepped back outside. "She really wants to be on Fierfek Squadron, as they're the ones that usually go on the most dangerous missions, and have the best pilots."

"That's your squadron, right?" Luke asked, recalling the name of the squadron who had helped blow up the Death Star, and Anakin nodded.

"Yeah, it is."

"So…what are these 'challenges', then?" Leia questioned, and Allie grinned, her eyes sparkling.

"It's like a test to see if you're good enough to be part of a squadron. It's for the younger people, mainly, but sometimes you get one of the adults competing for a place to get in if they've just been practising being a pilot over the last couple of years. It's so cool! There's like these obstacle courses that you have to get around, and stimulation tasks, and then there's a staged space battle in a safe, controlled environment, and-!"

"You're not entering." Anakin said flatly, knowing exactly where this was heading, and Allie broke off to give him a scowl, her enthusiasm and bubbliness instantly disappearing.

"But why not?!"

"Because you're not old enough."

"That's a stupid reason!"

"No, it's a valid reason." Anakin explain patiently. "You know the rules, Allie: you have to be seventeen, and you're not seventeen."

"That's a stupid rule," She muttered, and Anakin rolled his eyes.

"You're not entering, and that's all there is too it." He said in a tone that left no room for argument, and she let out a dramatic sigh, but didn't keep at it.

Luke's interest was piqued. "Seventeen?" He asked, and his father shot him a distracted smile.

"Yeah, seventeen. So yes, you are old enough to enter."

Allie opened her mouth – no doubt to make some snide comment – but her father silenced her with a look.

"You can enter in a couple of years if you still want to, Allie," He said, and she could tell from his tone of voice that she was pushing it and he was getting pissed off. "But no sooner. You are not going to be the exception to the rules."

"So, how old is Kira?" Leia asked, changing the subject. "Will she be able to enter this year?"

Anakin knew what she was doing, and was grateful for it. "No, she's fifteen, so she'll be able to enter in another two years."

"So are these challenges held every year?" Luke asked, and Anakin nodded.

"Yes, but not everybody who can enter does. Some wait another year or two, usually to work more on their piloting skills so that they'll get a place on a squadron when they do decided to enter."

"So will there be many people entering?"

Anakin shrugged. "A few. You have to give in your name on the day, so we don't actually have a full list yet, although some do sign up before hand."

"Do you run it?" Leia asked curiously, but Anakin shook his head.

"No, but I'm in charge of the training of the ones who get through, and also helping set up the courses that have to be completed in – though mainly the space battle. But loads of people chip in to help get everything ready, because people from all round the planet come – it's not just this town. Actually, we have to go out into the city for it, so generally we'll get a list of names of those who want to come and then we'll see what we can do about transport.

"As for those who want to compete, we'll get a list of potentials from this town and see who can actually enter," Here he shot a wordless look at Allie with a raised eyebrow that only the twins caught and understood that he meant weeding out those who weren't actually old enough, "Then they'll be given permission, and will enter the challenges on the day."

"It sounds like a lot of work," Leia said, her mind spinning through all the different jobs that would have to be done, and in a limited amount of time.

Anakin shrugged. "Yeah, I guess it is. But with a whole load of us working on it, it makes life a lot easier. Anyway, you're welcome to help out if you want to – the more the merrier, actually – and easier." He admitted with a grin, and Leia smiled back.

"I might just." She said, and Anakin smiled at her, before continuing.

"Then there'll be a celebration usually the day after the challenges in the town, to give people the chance to get back and prepare. Some usually stay behind to begin setting things up, and a lot of the café's and people who want to help out are generally busy preparing a _lot_ of food for the celebrations for a few days before hand. Your mother helps out with that, so if you like baking, I'm sure she'll be grateful for the help. Suki's allowed this year, so she'll probably want an extra pair of hands if she can get them to keep her in line and also so that she doesn't have to do everything herself, because it is a lot of work."

Leia nodded, and so did Luke.

"What about you?" He asked. "What do you do?"

"I'll be helping weed out the lists of potential pilots, and then lending a hand with the space battle side of things. Since those who organise the different events are spread out across the planet, we usually go a day early, so that we can get everything set up."

Luke nodded his understanding, and followed his father back through the door of their house, only now realising that that was where they had been heading the entire time.

Upon entering the living room, they saw that Aeyla and Sara were there chatting with Padme, and they could see little Reece gurgling away happily on her mother's knee while Sadie plutered about at her feet. Col was playing with her, and Suki was apparently up in her room, judging by the noise that was coming from overhead – too much noise for one six year old to be making, so Luke guessed that there was someone else up there with her.

There was also a teenage girl who Luke had never seen before sitting beside Sara on one of the couches, and she smiled at them as they came in. Luke smiled back, and couldn't help but admire her beauty: she looked a lot like Sara, only she had her father's brown eyes and the same shade of brown hair. She looked to be a couple of years younger than Luke himself was at the most, and it wasn't hard to guess that Sara was her mother, which meant that Jax Pavan was her father.

"Hey," She said, flicking some of her shoulder length hair out of her eyes and giving the twins a smile as she stood up and held out her hand to shale. "I'm Laura. Laura Pavan."

Well, that certainly cleared up any doubts Luke may have had about her parentage. "Luke." He replied, shaking her hand with a friendly smile. "Luke Skywalker, This is my sister Leia,"

"No kidding," She remarked with a grin as she shook Leia's hand as well. "Nice to meet you both: I've heard a lot about you."

Luke blushed a little. "And…what have you heard?"

Her smile turned wicked, and she was clearly enjoying his blush. "Oh, that you destroyed the Death Star, among other things," She commented offhandedly, and her grin widened as his blush deepened. "No, seriously though," She said, quitting with her mischief. "It is good to meet you both: I'm just sorry no one could meet you before this because of Kenobi," She scowled viciously, and Sara smiled.

"It's not his fault, Laura, and you must let go of your anger towards him. He did think he was doing the right thing, after all,"

Laura sighed, and flopped back down onto the cushion she had vacated moments before to greet Luke and Leia. "I know," She muttered. "But I can't help it – it's so unfair!"

Sara nodded, and put a hand gently on her arm. "I know it is, Laura. But you must learn to forgive and forget, sweetheart."

Laura sighed again, but didn't say anything further on the subject.

Padme decided a change of subject was needed as she peaked her husband on the lips on the way past before sitting down with him beside her on the sofa. "On a lighter note," She said cheerfully. "Kit's going to stay with his friend for lunch today, but he'll be back for dinner, so you'll get to meet him then," She smiled at her oldest children, and they smiled back as they took a seat on whatever was left. Padme then turned to Aeyla, Sara and Laura. "You're all welcome to stay for dinner as well, if you'd like."

Aeyla smiled, but shook her head. "No thanks, Padme. It's always a pleasure, but tonight is for you and your family – we wouldn't want to intrude on that."

Sara nodded, and gave Padme a gentle smile. "Aeyla's right, Padme: this is a time for you and your children, but we'd happily have you all over some other night, if you wanted."

"Mm, I might just take you up on that," Padme said with a smile. "But you'd have to come to us sometime too – you and your family as well, Aeyla." She added, and Aeyla smiled and nodded. Padme then had a thought. "You know, we should really invite Ahsoka and her kids over," She mused to husband. "It's been a while since I've seen them."

"Yeah, that'd be great," Anakin agreed mildly, and Leia could immediately tell that his mind wasn't fully on the conversation and that he was just agreeing to humour her. So could Padme, apparently, but she didn't pull him up on it, knowing that he had a lot in his mind right now what with the destruction of the Death Star and how that would have weakened the Empire, and of course with the upcoming piloting challenges.

"Anyway, we'd better head off," Sara said, standing up with Laura. "Laura, can you go call your sister?"

Laura nodded, and exited the room, and moments later they heard her voice bellowing up the stairs: "_AYESHA!_"

Anakin winced. "Force, that girl can yell." He muttered, and Padme smiled slightly.

Laura came back into the room then, and they could all hear feet pounding down the stairs and girlish giggles, before two hyper little girls barrelled into the room and came to a giggling halt at their parents' feet.

Ayesha Pavan had long ringlets of brown hair which was all messed up from playing at the moment, and her mother's wide, beautiful green eyes. In fact, she was almost a mini Sara were it not for the fact that she had her father's strong bone structure. Leia thought she would be very beautiful when she grew up, and there was certainly no doubt about that: who ever managed to capture her heart would be a very lucky man indeed.

Sara rounded up her rambunctious seven year old and managed to get out the door only ten minutes after she had said they needed to leave – which was, apparently, very good.

Aeyla too had rounded up her children and left, which left the Skywalkers with the house to themselves.

Luke and Leia enjoyed spending the day with their family, and they were looking forwards to meeting their final brother that evening. They wondered how Obi-Wan was getting on, but didn't bother asking if they could invite him over for dinner with their family, as they weren't quite sure if Padme would go far that just yet.

* * *

**Sorry about the abrupt ending, and the delay in updating, but I wanted to get this chapter posted today as I'm going away tomorrow and wouldn't have been able to get internet access for a while.**

**Anyway, not much happened here, I know, but I think this chapter was more about setting the scene and Anakin's relationship with the twins beginning to grow – and their relationship with Allie, of course. It also foreshadows some events that will be taking place in future chapters, such as the challenges and meeting Kit. He was going to be in this chapter, but he didn't quite fit in, so that should be the next one. I know there was no Obi-Wan, but hopefully he'll be back in the next chapter as well.**

**Anyway, please leave me some reviews, and I'll try to update quicker next time.**


	4. Chapter 4

**So, in this chapter we get a look into the events of eighteen years ago, and how things began to change in Sidious' plan of having Anakin as his apprentice. Well done if you've already figured out who Vader is, but this chapter should pretty much clear up any doubts you may still have. I know I've hinted at his identity in the past couple of chapters, but you'll find out for sure in this one – or possibly the next, depending on how this one turns out when I've finished it.**

**In response to the reviews, I know very well that Aayla Secura is spelt like that, but I'm so used to writing 'Aeyla' that I just do it now. I'll try to refrain from doing so if it bothers you so much, but it would be nice if you could leave me something else in the review apart from just about spelling errors, though it is good to know what I can improve on. **

* * *

**Chapter Four**

Just as Padme was laying the last of the food dishes on the table – she had decided just to do a buffet tonight so that people could just take what they liked when they liked – when the doorbell rang, and then opened, followed by a thud as it closed.

"Mum!" A voice called. "I'm home."

"I didn't know you changed your name," Leia heard Anakin's voice, an edge of amusement to his tone and she too had to fight off a smile as she helped her mother with the cutlery. "But we'll call you 'Home' if you like."

"DAD!"

A few seconds later a young boy with sandy blonde hair and deep brown eyes rocketed into the kitchen and straight into Anakin's arms, hugging him tight.

"I didn't know you were back!" Kitster Skywalker exclaimed, pulling back slightly so he could look into his father's face yet still be held tight in his arms.

Anakin chuckled and smiled at his second son. "Ah, well, now you see, you would know these things if you bothered to come home to your family once in a while," He teased, walking through to the dining room where the others were all sat and ready to start eating, his son held in his arms.

Kit pouted. "I do too come home! You just left!" He paused, and then asked: "When _did _you get home?"

"Yesterday afternoon," Anakin replied, letting his son slither down from his arms and trot over to his seat.

"Did you get the bad guys?" He asked, heaping pasta onto his plate.

Luke raised an eyebrow, and was about to speak up when his father caught his eye and winked, a wicked grin flashed his way before he returned his attention to his other son.

"Yes, Kit: we got the bad guys. You'll be pleased to know that the Death Star is no more."

"Wicked!" Kit exclaimed, grinning hugely. "So can I come up with you next battle?"

Anakin snorted. "Not a chance." He replied firmly, and Kit pouted.

"Aw, but _Dad_…" He whined, and Anakin rolled his eyes.

"No 'but Dad's'," He replied sternly. "You're not coming up. And besides," He added, taking a spoonful of vegetables that Leia had helped slice and dice. "You can barely reach the controls in a fighter."

Kit scowled at his father, and then froze, his hand halfway towards his mouth with a heap of pasta balanced precariously on it. His eyes slowly slid off of his father, onto Leia, then to Luke, and finally back to Anakin again.

"Uh, Dad…?"

Anakin's eyes held a wicked glint, but he kept his face carefully calm and neutral as he replied: "Yes, son?"

"Um…who are they?"

Anakin chuckled, while Padme smiled slightly and the twins looked on curiously. Little Suki let out a giggle, and Allie just rolled her eyes at her little brothers denseness.

"Well, it certainly took you long enough," Anakin said, amused. "Jedi are supposed to be perceptive, Kit: how do you ever hope to make it if you don't even notice when there are two extra people for dinner?" He teased, a wicked grin forming as his son blushed, embarrassed.

"Sorry," He muttered, and Anakin chuckled.

"Don't worry about it: you'll get there." Anakin assured him, and the young boy immediately perked up. "As for who our guests are…they're not. Guests, I mean. Kit, meet Luke and Leia."

The fork that was still to make its way to Kitster's mouth never got there, as it clattered down onto his plate as his jaw slackened in shock.

Luke grinned at him. "I guess you're our little brother, then?"

Kitster nodded mutely, still wide-eyed with surprise.

Padme chuckled. "We should introduce you two to him more often," She mused. "He's never this quiet."

Leia chuckled, while Kit recovered himself and bristled. "Hey!" He protested, but Padme just gave him a patient smile before he turned his attention back to his newly-found brother and sister.

"So…did you get back with Dad?" He questioned curiously, and Leia nodded.

"Yes. He showed up just in time to help us out with the Death Star: if they hadn't shown up when they did, there's no way that thing would have been destroyed." Leia admitted, and Kitster sighed happily.

"Yeah, he's great." He said slightly dreamily, and Anakin chuckled quietly, amused at the boy's hero worship at times, even if it could get a bit wearing sometimes.

Luke grinned. "Then there was the awards ceremony, and then Dad showed us the way back here." He finished the very brief story of what had happened, and Kitster stared at him in horror.

"_What?_" He squeaked. "That's _it_? That's all you're gonna tell us?!"

"What else is there to tell?" Anakin wondered innocently, and Leia had to hide a smile: apparently it was good fun to wind Kit up, if the hidden grins of amusement on the rest of his family's faces – but most of all Anakin's – were anything to go on. She'd have to remember that in future.

Kitster gaped at his father. "What about the space battle?!" He demanded. "What happened then? And what happened at the awards ceremony and –"

"Wow, Kit, slow down!" Anakin laughed, smiling. "We'll tell you, alright? Just not right now."

"But-!"

"Later."

Kit sighed dramatically, but returned to his food, knowing better than to argue with his father – and especially not in front of guests who weren't guests.

"So, how was Ethan's?" Padme questioned, and her son swallowed noisily before nodding enthusiastically.

"Great! His dad took us out for a ride in his speeder – it was so fast! But not as fast as Dad drives," Kit caught his father making frantic slashing motions to get him to shut up out of the corner of his eyes, but it was too late: he had already said it.

Padme turned to her husband, one eyebrow raised. "What's this?" She asked coolly. "Have you been speeding with my children in the speeder?"

"_Our_ children, dear," Anakin said, clearly buying time before he decided he's be better getting it over with now than having to drag his punishment out. "And. Yeah: maybe. But not often – only once or twice!"

Padme scowled at him. "We'll talk about this later," She said sternly, before her attention returned to Kitster as she pointedly turned her back on him.

Luke's lips twitched in amusement as Anakin rolled his eyes and scowled at his wife's back.

He glanced over and caught his son's eyes, winking when he saw that he was watching him.

"Will she be really mad at you?" Luke asked in an undertone, and Anakin winced but shook his head.

"No," He replied quietly, making doubly sure that Padme couldn't hear what was being said as she was currently embroiled in a heated discussion about everything that Kit had got up to at his friends' house. "She'll be pissed off at first, but she'll forgive me: and anyway, it's not like she has a leg to stand on – she loves it when I speed too."

Luke chuckled, and quickly disguised it by taking a quick gulp of coffee as Padme shot him a curious look.

* * *

The next morning dawned bright and clear, the single sun beating down on the town's occupants from high above them and bathing them in a nice, comfortable heat. Apparently the weather was usually pretty good this side of the planet, and it was only in the winter months that it became colder and rained – and, if they were really lucky, it may occasionally snow, as well. Luke hoped it would: he'd heard tales of the cold whiteness, but had never actually seen it first-hand. When he had mentioned that to his father, Anakin had chuckled and said that he'd have to go to Hoth sometime, then: apparently _that_ planet was covered in ice and snow all year round. Luke wasn't sure how he felt about that, but it might be alright to go and visit – no way could he ever live there all year round, though!

After a quick, friendly breakfast, everyone split up for the day, going their separate ways to do their various daily chores.

This time, however, it was only Luke and Leia who went with Anakin, and they headed over to their Aunt Aeyla's place, where, apparently, she would be waiting for them.

However, when they arrived, they found not only Aeyla but Obi-Wan there, as well. Dan was nowhere in sight, and neither were any of their children, so he must have taken them somewhere for the day to keep them out of the way for whatever was to come. He had wanted to stay, it was true, but this matter was personal for Anakin and Aeyla – even more so than it was for him – so he had agreed to take the kids out of his wife's hair so that she could have the house to herself when she and Anakin explained just what the hell had gone down sixteen years earlier – and, of course, who Darth Vader really was.

The three Skywalkers entered the house to find Aeyla sitting in cold silence in her living room, pointedly ignoring the uncomfortable Jedi Master, who looked immensely relieved to see them when they arrived. It was not secret that Aeyla didn't like Obi-Wan, so that must have been a very awkward few minutes when they were in the house alone together – another reason Dan had been reluctant to leave, as he knew just how violent his wife could be when she wanted to be: she could do some serious damage to a guy, and she didn't even have to exert much effort to do it. One well-placed punch, and you could damage their back, give them a concussion and do several other things besides.

"Ben," Luke greeted, smiling at the old man. "I was wondering when we'd see you again."

"Yes, well, I decided to keep my distance yesterday," Obi-Wan replied with a slight smile. "I thought you'd like some time alone with your family, without my presence there making things difficult."

Anakin snorted as he took a seat next to his sister, Aeyla shifting over on the sofa slightly to give him some room. "You mean you were too scared of Padme to get in her way."

Obi-Wan blushed, but didn't answer. He didn't have to: the answer was written all over his face.

"So, can we get started, then?" He questioned instead. "Why did you ask me to come here?"

Anakin shook his head. "No, we're still waiting for two more."

As if on cue, the doorbell rang and Aeyla rose to answer it, coming back a few moments later with Ferrus Olin and Han Solo in toe.

Leia raised an eyebrow at the sight of the Captain – who she had expected to have left with his payment by now – but didn't comment. She was secretly a little glad that he was still around, even though she herself was the last person she would have admitted that little fact to.

Han raised an eyebrow at the sight of them all gathered there, and took the seat that Aeyla gestured him into, next to the other Jedi Knight – well, ex-Knight, as he had left the Order before the Purges, so hadn't been hunted like the others had been.

"So…what's all this about?" Ferrus finally asked after a few minutes of silence, and Anakin sighed.

"We figured you'd want to know what's really going on in the galaxy, and just who the hell Vader is since he isn't me."

Obi-Wan blinked, surprised. He had thought that it must have been something important if Anakin – and Aeyla, for that matter – were willingly talking to him, but he hadn't expected them to release this information so easily.

"What's the catch?" He asked suspiciously, and Anakin rolled his eyes.

"No catch," He replied, with a slight glower in his former mentor's direction. "You're the only ones who don't know – well, no one else really knows all the detail, but we figured, since you're in this as deep as me and Aeyla, you had the right to know."

"Even me?" Han asked, surprised, and Anakin smiled slightly.

"Yes, Captain: even you. You may not know it, but you have a role to play in the future of this galaxy: I don't know what it is yet, but I do know that you are important. It is for that reason that you are here right now, but know that what we are about to tell you goes no further – and _especially_ not to any of the children, you hear?" He looked around at everyone as he said this, not just Han, and everyone nodded. Most of them had seen the other day that Allie and Suki didn't know, so it stood to reason that the other younglings around wouldn't, either.

"So, they don't know anything?" Ferus asked, raising an eyebrow, but Anakin shook his head.

"No, they know some things – what it's safe for them to know. And then a couple of the older ones know who Vader really is, but only the Jedi who are most likely to be helping out the Rebellion sometime in the near future," He said, rolling his eyes as Corran Horn sprang to mind. The boy wasn't as good wielding the Force as some others perhaps were, but he was definitely a good pilot, and he would no doubt be putting those skills to good use blowing things up any time soon.

"So, what really happened that day at the Temple if not you storming the Temple?" Ferus asked, and Anakin sighed deeply, running his hand through his hair as he decided where to begin, exchanging an unreadable look with Aeyla and receiving an almost imperceptible nod in return.

"First, you need to know something about us, so this is going back even further than sixteen years, alright?" When they nodded to show that they understood, Aeyla took up the story.

"When I was a child, I had a twin brother." She began, and Obi-Wan frowned, wondering where this was going. He had heard that Anakin had a little brother as well, but so far he hadn't seen any sign of him around, nor were there any pictures around either his house or this one to suggest that he ever came around. He wondered what had happened to him.

"Dexter was…well, he was angry, I guess. Angry and jealous, because everyone was always better than him. Course, the idiot never thought to actually _try_ something to see if he could do it instead if just complaining all the time," She added bitterly, then dragged her thought back on track. "Anyway, he had always resented Anakin most of all, and that resentment just continued to grow after Anakin left slavery and joined the Republic, becoming a Jedi. During the Clone Wars we would sometimes hear news about what was going on in the war from the deep space pilots who came through, and we heard all about when Anakin and his Padawan rescued Jabba's son from the Separatists." She smiled faintly at a memory. "I remember folk who had known him as a little boy being amused at this: it was no secret that Anakin hated the Hutts, as everyone who had ever been owned by them did, so to have him rescue one? It was kinda funny," She glanced over at her older brother, her eyes glinting with amusement, and he rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, Dex hated it every time we heard of something Anakin had done, as it was usually some heroic stunt he had pulled, or a planet he had saved." Again Anakin rolled his eyes at this, but he didn't interrupt her. Obi-Wan was beginning to get a feeling of where this might be going, and he frowned: was it possible?

"He started acting really weird. He was angry all the time, and secretive, and one time…" She hesitated, and frowned a little. "I thought I saw a flash of red in his eyes," She admitted. "I thought it was just a trick of the light, but now…" She shook herself, and forced her mind back onto the tale. "Anyway, he disappeared suddenly, and I knew that something was wrong. People said he was dead, but I didn't believe them. He had been talking for a while about getting a ship off planet, and I thought he had finally done it. I didn't know what he had gone to do, or where he had gone, but I knew it wasn't anything good.

"So I told Owen and Beru that I was leaving for a bit, and they didn't seem that surprised. They knew I hated it on Tatooine, and, to be honest, there wasn't really anything left for me there after Mum died – well, there was Kitster, but we didn't really see each other that much after he got married." She paused here, and sighed, remembering her childhood friend. "Then I sweet-talked one of the pilots who was passing through Anchorhead to take me with him to Coruscant, as he was in the Republic Navy, and that was where he was headed next.

"When we got there, we went our separate ways, and I began my search for Anakin. I knew that if anyone could help me, he could, and we had been in a contact a couple of times since Mum died, so I knew about his wife. I tracked her down, and, when I explained who I was, she let me stay with her for a couple of nights until Anakin got back home from the war…

* * *

_Eighteen years previously…_

Anakin Skywalker landed is speeder at his wife's apartment, and leaned his head back, exhausted. He allowed himself a small smile though as he was finally given the chance to forget about the war and the politics of it for even just one night, when he could hold his wife in his arms for the first time in five months and not have to endure debriefing after debriefing about what he happened on the Invisible Hand.

Pregnant. His wife was _pregnant_.

He had meant what he'd said when he had seen her briefly this morning: this really was fantastic. He knew that Padme had a valid point worrying about the Queen and her position, as well as his career and the Jedi Order, but he was determined to give her a night to celebrate and not have to worry: when they could be young, expectant parents and not 'Senator' and 'Jedi', When they could be a couple, even if it did have to be in secret, and hidden in the shadows.

His thoughts were so caught up in his wife and their child as he let himself in that he didn't bother to probe the Force, thus why he was surprised to a halt at the sight of the young woman in the tight, functional clothes not so unlike his Padawan's only without the skirt leaning up against a counter in Padme's kitchen, chatting to his wife and laughing with her as she went about preparing a meal.

He recognised her instantly, even though he hadn't seen her in a while. Well, his wife had failed to mention _that_ this morning!

"Aeyla?"

Aeyla Skywalker looked round at the sound of her name, and smiled at her older brother, setting aside her glass of Nubian Wine and embracing his tightly.

"Hey, Ani." She breathed, enjoying the sensation of being held in his strong arms again for the first time in a long time. "Long time, no see."

Anakin chuckled, and pulled back to look at her. "That it has," He agreed. "But what are you doing here?"

Aeyla immediately sobered, and pulled out of his embrace. "I'll tell you later. Right now, I think you'd better go see your wife, don't you?" Her eyes glittered up at him, and he grinned back at her before closing the distance between himself and his wife in a few, long strides, and squelching all daylight between them as he pulled her flush against his body, his lips pulling hers into a passionate kiss. She squeaked in surprise, not having expected it, but soon melted against him and returned the kiss with equal fervour, grateful that Anakin was being mindful of her slightly rounded stomach as he geld her tightly.

Aeyla rolled her eyes and moved into the other room to give the couple some privacy, taking her wine with her.

She sat on the sofa and chewed her lip, knowing that what she had to say was going to burst Anakin's happy bubble, and hesitant to do it. She and Padme had been trading stories for the last couple of days as they became comfortable with each other, and she had learned from that that Anakin rarely got leave from the war, and that husband and wife reassured the few moments they could get together because of that.

She wished she could give Anakin all the time in the Universe to celebrate and look forwards to fatherhood with his young wife, but she knew that she had to tell him about Dexter, as she had a really bad feeling. On Tatooine he hadn't been much of a threat to anybody, but out in the galaxy? With the amount of anger he had in him and how much he hated Anakin, he could be used against the Republic, for sure: it was just a matter of who got to him first.

She wanted to give her brother some time to just be a normal husband, and a soon-to-be father, but they were Skywalker's after all: they just didn't have that luxury.

She rose to her feet as Anakin and Padme entered, her sharp eyes instantly noting his arm tight around her waist, and the happy glow that both were radiating. She sighed, knowing that that would soon come to an end.

As if picking up on her mood, Anakin's smile faltered on his face, and he frowned.

"Aeyla?" He asked, coming forwards and laying a hand gently on her shoulder, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "What is it?"

She let out a deep sigh, and met his gaze straight on. "It might be nothing, but…" She trailed off, and then let out a gusty breath, plopping back down on the sofa she had just vacated and motioning for him to take a seat too.

Frowning, Anakin did so on the sofa opposite her, and Padme curled up at his side, her brown eyes holding a touch of sadness as she knew that, whatever it was Aeyla had come so far to say, it would destroy the temporary peace of mind her husband had gained, and the happy glow that had come with the knowledge that he was soon going to be a father.

She sighed once more, running her hand through her long brown hair in a motion that reminded Padme so much of Anakin, and then began. "You know how Dex has always been…well, angry?" When Anakin nodded, his frown deepening, she continued. "Well, like I said it might be nothing, but lately he's been even worse. He's secretive, he's sullen…and there's this sort of…well, _evil_ look about him." She knew that that was a strong word to use, and so did Anakin, but it did describe what was happening to her brother. "I thought it was just a trick of the light back then but…Anakin, I swear one time his eyes flashed red."

Anakin's eyes widened slightly at this, but he held his silence, waiting for his little sister to continue.

When she did, she seemed hesitant, as if telling him all of this made it more real for her somehow. "He's been acting strange lately, and now he's gone and done a runner –"

"Done a runner?" Anakin interrupted sharply. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "He's disappeared. Folk are saying he's dead, but there's been no body found, and I don't believe it for a second. No, I reckon he's left planet. I don't know where he is, or what the hell he thinks he's playing at, but I thought I'd better warn you – just in case, you know? I mean, he has all that anger, and I know you've said before that you have to be careful because of your own, because it could turn you to the Dark Side." She saw Padme's surprised look directed towards her husband, but he didn't meet her eyes, continuing to watch Aeyla, listening a lot more receptively than she had thought he'd be. "But, even though he hasn't had any training, I think Dex is like you: Force sensitive."

"He is," Anakin replied, and Aeyla felt her heart sink a little, as the thought that perhaps he wasn't was what had allowed her a small ray of hope that her brother wouldn't cause harm to anyone. "But then so are you."

She started at that, surprised. "Me? But I'm not like you."

Anakin smiled softly. "Yes, you are. You may not be able to pod-race," Here he wore an amused smile as they both remembered back to their childhood when little Aeyla had desperately wished that she could pilot as fast as her big brother, whom she had idolised. "But you can still fell the Force. Haven't you always been able to read people's emotions, and sense what they're thinking? You're perceptive, and that's a sure sign of latent Force ability."

She blinked, still slightly shocked at that news, but she supposed she shouldn't really have been surprised: after all, why should just Anakin and Dexter be Force sensitive? It made more sense that she was too.

She pushed that thought aside for later, though, and returned to the more important matter at hand. "But then that means that Dex could turn to the Dark Side, doesn't it?" She questioned, and Anakin frowned deeply again.

"Yes, it does," He admitted. "And that is troubling."

A thought suddenly struck Aeyla, and she jerked in her seat; appalled. "But I could too!"

Anakin's lips twitched. "You could," He conceded. "But you won't."

"How would you know?!" She demanded, and he smiled patiently at her.

"Because turning to the Dark Side isn't a choice – well, not usually. The choice is what you choose to do with your life, and how you deal with your anger." He explained gently. "If you focus on that anger, and let it manifest into hatred and suffering, you will probably turn to the Dark Side of the Force. But if you channel that anger and pain on more positive ways – like you have done – you won't. Aeyla, you've devoted your life to helping people: Dex hasn't. You find joy in knowing that you've helped someone out, but he doesn't. He focuses on the negative, while you usually try to think positively. You see the good in people, while he only wants to see the bad. It is this, more than anything, that makes you so different. I know he's your twin, but you are not alike: not really. You never have been. Even when we were kids you were always the more patient one, while both he and I were quick to anger. I've had help dealing with mine, but Dex hasn't. And he didn't have someone like Padme to keep him from falling like I've had," He added, with a soft smile down at his wife, where she was still curled up with his arm around her, listening carefully. She returned his smile, and then he turned back to Aeyla. "Aeyla, you are not a bad person. Neither is he – not really – but, if his rage continues to control him, he can become one. Do you have _any_ idea where he went?"

Aeyla shook her head miserably. "No. He always talked about leaving, but he never mentioned any one place specifically, and I guess I never really took him all that seriously. But how much harm can he really do out there? I mean, you and I learned how to fight when we were kids, but he was never interested, and he hasn't been since."

Anakin was already shaking his head before she had even finished speaking. "It doesn't work like that. It doesn't matter if he can fight or not: it's what's in his head and what he believes that counts. If he chooses to believe the Sith – should they find him – then there is very little we'll be able to do to help him. However, if we find him before they do, then we may be able to reason with him – well," He amended. "You may be: there's no way he'll listen to me."

She smiled faintly at this, knowing how true his words were.

Anakin gave her a soft smile. "Don't worry, Aeyla: we'll find him. I can get some of my contacts to look out for him, if you like. What I can't do is issue a galaxy-wide search, because that would attract too much attention, and would alert the Sith to his existence – which we don't want."

Aeyla nodded, and then smiled slightly sheepishly at the young couple. "I really am sorry for dumping this on you both: I know you'd rather have spent the knight celebrating, or whatever."

Anakin chuckled, and smiled down at his wife. "Oh, don't worry: we'll get to that." He replied, amused. "But I'm glad you told me about Dex: I can't say I'd have been too impressed had you not told me and he had suddenly turned up as a Sith."

Aeyla smiled faintly, and rose. "Well, I guess I'll be off." She sighed. "Though I don't know how I'm gonna get back to Tatooine. I don' suppose you know anyone who can take me there for free?" She asked, not really expecting to get a positive answer, and Anakin rolled his eyes.

"You're not going back to Tatooine." He said flatly. "What do you have there now, anyway? Besides, I can't look for Dex on my own – I've still got the war to think about, and I'm not really on Coruscant that much. I know a place you can stay, if you'd like."

Aeyla smiled gratefully. "Thanks," She said, and she really meant it.

"You can stay here." Padme finally spoke up, sitting up from where she had been leaning into Anakin. "I don't know where Anakin has in mind, but you're family: and I never turn away family."

Aeyla grinned at her. "You sure? I don't want to be a bother."

Padme rolled her eyes. "Oh, you won't be," She assured her. "Besides: I've quite enjoyed your company these past couple of days. And it would be good to have another woman around who knows about my pregnancy and can help me out with it," She admitted. "I've been so worried about what I'll do, and what the Queen will say, and if the Council finds out Anakin is the father –!"

Anakin put a hand on his wife's shoulder, smiling gently at her. "Padme, calm down," He said gently but sternly. "It'll be alright: and I'm sure Aeyla will be happy to help you out, however she can."

Aeyla grinned, and nodded.

Padme smiled gratefully at her. "Thank you, Aeyla. I really mean it."

Aeyla laughed lightly. "Don't worry about it, Padme: it'll be fine – you'll see."

* * *

"So…you warned Anakin about your twin, and then you stayed to help out the Senator and help look for him?" Ferus questioned, and Aeyla nodded.

"Yeah. Padme had been coping pretty well on her own up until then, but I think she was close to breaking. She was glad to have me around to help, and I did so in any way I could.

"As for the other place Anakin had said he knew I could stay, he meant at the flat he shared with the Nabrynski's as a cover so that no-one apart from them knew he was really at his secret wife's. He took me over to meet them the next day, as he said that they might be able to help me out with the search for Dex, and that if I was ever in trouble and he wasn't around, then they were the ones to call,"…

* * *

Anakin pulled the speeder up at a block of flats just outside the Jedi Temple, and hopped out. His sister raised an eyebrow, and followed him to the lift, all the way up to the fourteenth floor.

When they stepped out of the lift, they were in a corridor open to the Corascanti sky, and a gently breeze ruffled her loose hair.

"So, this is where you live when you're not at Padme's?" She asked quietly as he led her over towards a door and unlocked it, gesturing her inside before shutting it behind them again.

Anakin nodded. "Yep. Don't worry; you can trust these guys. If you're ever in trouble and I'm not on planet, then call them and they should be around to help out. They generally get the more local missions, so they should be there."

Aeyla nodded, as they stepped into a kitchen that doubled as a dining room and opened out into the living room.

A young woman who Aeyla guessed was perhaps a year or two older than Anakin looked up and smiled at Anakin, before noticing Aeyla and frowning slightly.

She set down the datapad she had been reading, her vividly green eyes narrowing slightly. "Anakin, what-"

Anakin held up a hand to silence her. "Relax, Sara: she's fine. I just brought her over to introduce her to you guys, 'cause you're the ones that can help her the most if she needs it."

The woman – Sara – raised an eyebrow at this, and then smiled at Aeyla, flicking her long, dark pony tail out of her face as she came towards her. "Well, in that case it's nice to meet you. I'm Sara: Sara Nabrynski. And you are?" She asked, sticking out her hand to shake.

Aeyla smiled, deciding she quite liked this straight-to-the-point, no-nonsense young woman as she took her hand and shook. "Aeyla. Aeyla Skywalker."

Sara's mouth dropped open, and she gaped at Aeyla in shock. "You're his sister?!" She yelped, and Anakin chuckled.

"Yeah, she's my sister: so what?"

Sara just shook her head, and flopped down on the couch. "Well, it's nice to meet you Aeyla. But why are you here? And why now?" She added, curious, and Aeyla sighed, sitting down opposite her.

"That's a long story," She admitted, and Sara smiled, gesturing for her to explain.

"I've got time."

"We'd be better waiting 'till Dan's here," Anakin interjected. "He needs to know this as well if he's going to help out – is he around?"

Sara nodded, and twisted round to look at a door that obviously led off into another room. "DAN!" She yelled. "GET IN HERE NOW!"

Anakin winced, and then grimaced at his sister, who had to hold off a giggle: _Force_, that woman could shout!

"What?" A young man who had a striking resemblance to Sara walked into the room, his brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you want, Sara? And could you not yell so loud next time? _Please_?"

Then he caught sight of Anakin and Aeyla, and his jaw dropped, unable to keep his eyes from travelling over the latter's body – and quite liking what he saw.

Aeyla noticed his gaze and gave him a fierce scowl: she supposed she should be used to it, growing up on Tatooine, but it still urked her.

"Dan, this is Anakin's sister," Sara said, smirking slightly as he gulped, clearly rethinking his plans to woe her as he knew what Anakin was capable of and would doubtless enact upon him should he mess with his little sister.

"Aeyla," Aeyla said, smiling sweetly at him and watching the reaction it got her. "Aeyla Skywalker. It's nice to meet you," She all but purred, and Dan gulped, reining in his hormones as they attempted to get the better of him – but they would not win, of that he would make sure!

Anakin rolled his eyes at his friend's reaction, and kicked Aeyla's leg. "Cut it out," He grumbled. "We need him focused, and not on you."

Aeyla's grin was wicked, but she complied with her brother's request.

"So, what did you want to talk to us about?" Sara asked as Dan made himself comfortable perched on the arm of her sofa.

Anakin and Aeyla exchanged a look, and then sighed.

"You guys know I have a brother, right?" Anakin began, taking up the responsibility of explaining, and the twins nodded. "Well, he's Aeyla's twin, and he's gone AWOL."

Dan frowned. "Right, but…what does that have to do with us?"

"The thing is, Dex is Force sensitive, but he hasn't had any training," Aeyla spoke up. "And he's angry. Really angry, and he hates Anakin."

Sara got the message. "You're worried the Sith'll get their hands on him?" She questioned Anakin, and he nodded.

"Yeah," He agreed. "It may not seem all that likely, but they seem to be one step ahead of us throughout this whole blasted war, and I honestly wouldn't put it past them to find him and seduce him to the Dark Side. He may not be that powerful, but he's got a hell of a lot of anger in him, and a lot of hatred and desire to be better than everyone too. The Sith could use that."

"So, where do we come in?" Dan asked, and Aeyla took up the story.

"I'm going to try and track him down, as Anakin can't really put his full effort into it, what with the war and Padme and everything."

Sara frowned, thinking there was more to it, and Anakin sighed before speaking up.

"Padme's pregnant," He admitted, and Sara let out a shriek of delight before rocketing off the couch to crush him in a breath-stealing hug.

"OH MY FORCE!" She yelled. "THAT IS SO COOL! CONGRATULATIONS!"

Anakin winced, and managed to extract himself from her crushing embrace. "Thanks," He said, smiling slightly as Dan clapped him on the back. "But that's not the issue here, so get serious, will you Sara?"

She quickly sobered, and muttered a quick apology, which Anakin waved away.

"Anyway, you know I'm usually off-planet, which means I won't be able to help Aeyla out if she gets into trouble with her investigating. I need you guys to be that help if she needs it."

Sara nodded seriously, knowing how important this was to Anakin. "No problem," She said straight away. "If you need help, just call me," She said to Aeyla, who gave her a grateful smile in return.

"Yeah, or me." Dan added, and then grinned. "You'll be needing my number, right?" There was a wicked glint in his eyes, and Anakin sighed.

"Yeah, but for this and _only_ this." He said, glowering at his friend, and the young man backed off, holding his hands up in defeat while Aeyla snorted.

"As if I'd go _there_," She snorted. "Trust me: I'm not interested."

Dan looked a little crestfallen at this, but wisely kept his silence while Sara just chuckled to herself.

* * *

"So, did you ever find him?" Han questioned, and Anakin sighed,

"Yes," He admitted, "But by then it was already too late.

"I'd been on Coruscant more than usual in the past four months, but I hadn't had much time to spare looking for him. I had people that I could trust all over the galaxy who were gonna contact me if they heard from him, but so far no luck."

"Padme would have been nearly due by then, yes?" Obi-Wan questioned, and Anakin nodded.

"Yeah," He admitted. "I'd been feeling something brewing on the Force for a while by then, and I realised what it was when I went to speak to the Chancellor under the Council's orders. It was then that I found out he was the Sith Lord we had been looking for, and I told Master Windu as soon as I found him.

"He and Master Tii went to confront him, but Master Tii was killed near the start of the battle that ensued, and Mace was thrown out of the window by Palpatine's new apprentice, who was then named 'Darth Vader'."

"So, if it wasn't you, then…who was it?" Ferus asked, and Anakin grimaced.

"I'm getting to that." He replied, and then continued on. "Anyway, all this was happening while Obi-Wan was still away on Utapau after killing General Grievous – which was actually what I went to inform the Chancellor of, when he revealed that was the Sith Lord behind the entire war. He wasn't too happy about the good General being defeated, as you can imagine, as it messed with his plans a little bit.

"Anyway, you were off planet, Kenobi, so you didn't know what was going on. I had been ordered to wait in the Council Chambers in the Temple until Windu returned, but I was sensing someone I hadn't in a long time, and I went to the Senate building as fast as I could. I saw Mace fall from the shattered window, and managed to catch him as he fell. He then told me what had happened, and I realised what had happened, and just who Palpatine's new apprentice was now that both Dooku and Grievous were dead.

"So…who was he?" Luke asked, although Leia had a sinking feeling that she already knew.

Anakin looked up and met his son's gaze head on. "Dexter." He replied. "Darth Vader is – _was_ – your uncle."

* * *

**Dun, dun, dun! So, who had already figured it out? Anyway, sorry to leave it there, but I felt like that was a good place to finish. I know it was mainly story-telling in this chapter, but I'm hoping to clear up a few issues in the next couple of chapters, so expect a lot of flashbacks!**

**Please leave me some reviews letting me know what you think, and I'll get the next chapter – which I've already started – up as soon as I can.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you to those who left a review after that note – sorry I put it up like that, but no one reviewed at all: I know how many people read it, and it certainly wasn't none! Anyway, thanks to those who did in the end, and here's the next chapter…**

* * *

**Chapter Five**

Aeyla Skywalker looked round as her brother burst into his wife's apartment, his eyes blazing.

She shot to her feet, instantly on alert. "What is it?" She questioned as Padme come in, a worried frown gracing her features as she laid a hand protectively on the baby bump that not even the loosest dresses had a hope in hell of hiding. "What's happened?"

"I've found Dexter," He said tersely, coming to a halt in front of them. "He's the new Sith apprentice,"

Aeyla swore colourfully, and lashed a kick into the side of the unsuspecting couch, furious that she hadn't found him on time. She had looked for months, but her brother had evaded her – which had surprised her, as she didn't think he had it in him.

Now she knew he'd had help.

Anakin turned to Padme. "You need to pack," He said. "I'm needed at the Temple, but as soon as I'm done there we need to get out of here. Palpatine knew about you, and he tried to use that to get me to turn when he revealed to me that he's been the Sith Lord we've been looking for all along." Padme gasped at this revelation, horrified at the fact that her boss was even more of a monster than she had already thought he was. "I'll come back for you, but you need to start packing, and quickly. Aeyla –"

"I'll help," She assured him. "Don't worry: I'll keep her safe, and we'll get out of here as soon as we can."

Anakin nodded and pulled her close, placing a soft, lingering kiss on her forehead before kissing his wife quickly and fiercely, and then he was gone, striding from the apartment with his long cloak billowing behind him.

"Be careful!" Padme called after him, but he was already gone.

Aeyla let out a gusty breath, and sank down onto the couch, burying her head in her hands.

Padme sat down next to her, and put a comforting arm around the woman who had quickly become a sister to her. "It's not your fault, Aeyla," She said quietly, knowing that she would be blaming herself as Anakin often did, and Aeyla took in a shaky breath, shaking her head like she didn't believe her.

"If I'd just tried harder, if I'd only found him sooner –!"

"Aeyla, you spent every spare minute searching for him – trust me, I know, I watched you. You did everything you could, and not a thing less. If he had been able to be found, then you would have found him – I know it."

Aeyla sighed, and then looked up at Padme, her resolve hardening.

"Right," She said decisively. "We'd better get packing, then."

Padme smiled and gave her a squeeze, and then eased to her feet once more, wincing as pain shot up her back, before both women headed off in different directions to pack up and leave the planet for who knew how long.

Meanwhile, Clones all over the galaxy were receiving Order 66, and were turning on their Jedi Generals as Darth Vader stormed the Temple with the 501st Battalion under his command.

Yet there were a few who did not agree with their orders, and they defied them.

Hearing the order as it came through his headset, Clone Commander Bly's eyes widened as he realised that his subordinate was about to put a blaster bolt in his commanding General's head as she stood with her back facing them, surveying the Felucian landscape.

He dove at the trooper, knocking his blaster off target, and causing the bolt to hit the tree.

Startled, Aayla Secura looked around, and her eyes widened even as her lightsaber blazed to life, deflecting the bolts that were now being fired at her from her small squadron. To her surprise, Bly pulled out his own blaster, but didn't shoot her: instead he began taking down the Clones that she had not, but they knew that time was running out: reinforcements would arrive any moment, so they had to get out of here.

Dispatching the last of the small squad Aayla had taken with her, the two took off into the forests, leaving the carnage behind them as they ran for cover before more arrived.

Aayla wanted answers, but they could wait: if they survived whatever the hell was going on, then she would grill her Commander, but until then, they would focus on keeping one another alive to fight another day.

Across the galaxy on Utapau, two Clones by the name of Waxer and Boil froze as their orders came through, frowning in confusion.

They were supposed to kill any and all Jedi on sight, but the Jedi weren't evil. They had fought beside Obi-Wan Kenobi long enough to know that, and they had often served with Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan Ahsoka Tano too, and they didn't seem evil either.

They watched in horror as Cody ordered the cliff-face General Kenobi was climbing riddled with bullets, and their horror mounted as they watched him fall into the pond below.

Exchanging looks beneath their helmets, the brothers in arms quietly backed away from their traitorous brothers and disappeared into the landscape beyond.

Meanwhile at the Jedi Temple, there were seven troopers who weren't marching on it as they had been ordered.

They took orders from General Skywalker, and General Skywalker alone – well, Commander Tano, too – but the man who was in control was most certainly _not_ either of them. Their orders had come straight from the Chancellor himself, but why should they follow them?

Having served under Anakin, Captain Rex had often been told that some orders weren't meant to be followed if they were wrong, and these orders most definitely were.

That was why he was currently hanging back, undecided along with Kix and Hardcase, Jesse and Oddball, Fives, Broadside and Tup.

"What's going on?" Tup – the youngest in their group – asked. "Why are we suddenly supposed to kill the Jedi?"

Rex shook his head wordlessly, as in the dark as the young rookie soldier. "I don't know, kid," He replied. "But whatever's going on, it ain't good."

"So…do we follow our orders?" Hardcase asked. "Or do we help the Jedi?"

Kix snorted. "The Jedi, of course. Only question is: how?"

Anakin burst into the flat he shared with the Nabrynski's to find them both there, quite obviously confused.

"Anakin?" Sara asked, coming towards him. "What the hell is going on?"

"Dexter's a Sith," Anakin replied tersely. "So's Palpatine – he's the Sith Lord we've been looking for all along," Dan sucked in a sharp, shocked breath at that, but Anakin ignored him as he continued on. "We need to evacuate the Temple, and _quickly_. We'll need to move fast, and we need to move _now_: the bastard's already on his way up the stairs with my battalion, and I'm guessing they're not gonna leave any survivors."

Both twins nodded, their faces set and determined as they readied themselves for what was going to be the fight of their lives.

Sara ran and got all the Jedi who were still in the same building, and together they formed a plan.

With a little help from Anakin, Ahsoka Tano, Jocosta Nu, Strass Allie and Talisbeth Esterhazy broke into the hanger bay across from the Temple, and stole four large crafts to ferry out the evacuees while Dan and Sara made sure that the small task force they and Anakin had assembled were ready to storm the Temple after the troopers.

Siri Tachi, Sha Koon, Plo Koon, Mace Windu, Shaak Ti, Serra Keto and Tru Veld had all determinedly agreed to brave the swarm of Storm-Troopers who were destroying the building from the inside out with Anakin and the twins, and they were soon infiltrating it behind them, swiftly and silently cutting down the guards posted at the smoking entrance before splitting up and heading off in different directions, taking out anyone and everyone who got in their way and searching for any Jedi survivors they could find.

As for Anakin, he headed towards his brother's Force presence, and soon found him in the Council Room, killing younglings.

Anger sparked inside Anakin as he felt the brutal executions, and he reached out with the Force, cutting all the electricity in the room and halting Vader in his stride as he was about to slice off a young girl's head.

Coming up behind him, Anakin slammed the hilt of his lightsaber into the back of Vader's head, knocking him to the ground: dazed.

He reached out and quickly scooped the little girl into his arms, feeling her trembling arms go tight around his neck as he wordlessly gestured for the two other ashen-faced survivors to follow him.

Once outside the Council room, he set the little girl on her feet and hustled them all towards the window at the far side of the corridor, where he could see Padawan Learner Olee Starstone pulling up a speeder.

He smashed the window, and handed the three young children out to her, one of the little boys giving him a trembling smile just before she pulled away to go see if there was anyone else on her level that needed a lift to the evacuation crafts.

"Thank you, Master Skywalker," Sors Bandeam said, and Anakin gave him a slight smile, before running off into battle again.

Up on the roof, Garen Muln and Bant Eerin herded those who had already made it out onto the ships, and helped to tend to the wounded. There was a surprising number of them already, and, with Ahsoka, Olee and Scout swooping around the Temple pulling more into their speeders to deliver up here, they would only keep coming.

Inside the Room of a Thousand Fountains, Padawan Whie Malreux battled fiercely against the storm-troopers who were coming after him, and then watched in horror as first his friend Bene then and Master Drallig were viciously cut down by Vader.

Vader then turned those cold red eyes of his on Whie, and he could do nothing but watch as the vision he had seen years ago played out right in front of him, the Sith lifting his lightsaber as he prepared to strike him down.

Charging into the room as this happened, Anakin's eyes widened and he acted on instinct: he flung his lightsaber to the side, running straight at his brother and hitting his lightsaber arm out the way at the same time as his un-gloved left hand came up to close around his neck.

Whie's eyes widened as he watched the Jedi Knight's blazingly blue eyes begin to glow, and Vader faltered, his own eyes widening in shock and a little bit of fear as he felt the energy slowly being drained from him by Anakin's mysterious power, his knees buckling beneath his own weight.

Before he could completely drain him, however, Anakin broke the contact with a gasp, unable to keep it up any longer and staggering slightly as the powerful act left him weakened.

Whie reached out a hand to steady the Knight, but he was already recovering.

Anakin glanced up at him from where he was still slightly bent over, panting a little. "You alright?"

Whie nodded mutely and was about to reply when Anakin suddenly straightened up, his head whipping around to face the door as he stretched out his hands, calling both his own and Cin Dralig's lightsabers to him.

As storm-troopers began to pour through the blasted-open doors, Whie called over Bene's, and both Jedi activated their weapons, the snap-hiss of four lightsabers echoing around the large, cavernous room as they began furiously deflecting blaster bolts.

Seeing his opening, Anakin flipped up and over the approaching trooper's heads, slashing at them and taking down two at once with the one lightsaber.

Whie continued to block the bolts that came his way, his eyes wide as he watched Anakin brutally and mercilessly hack down the storm-troopers one by one, with a skill Whie had never seen before until none remained but their lifeless, dismembered bodies leaking blood all over the floor.

Anakin was panting slightly as he deactivated the lightsabers, grateful for the breather.

Then he straightened and looked at Whie. "Alright?" He asked again, and the Padawan nodded wordlessly. "Good. Make your way to the roof: we've got some shuttles waiting to get us out of here up there."

Whie nodded again and then sprinted away. He paused in the doorway, and glanced back. "Thanks," He said simply, and received a nod in return before they went their separate ways: Whie to help out on the roof and Anakin to find any other survivors.

Stumbling into a ruined situation room, Serra Keto staggered to a halt, her eyes widening as they took in the sight before her.

Three master stood with seven clones by their side, all eleven of them battling against a rapidly diminishing number of storm-troopers.

The eight who were apparently on the Jedi's side had removed their helmets, and holstered their blasters, their gazes swivelling round to her as she came to a stop in front of them, one eyebrow raised and hand resting on one of her lightsabers, ready to ignite it and slice them apart at a moments notice.

"So, what do we have here? Did you lot not receive your orders?"

"Oh, we received them, alright," The Clone who looked to be the highest ranking out of them all answered smartly, and she noted the blue on his armour. "Just didn't agree with them, so we ignored them."

"I see," She scrutinised his closely, recognising what rank his stripes signified. "Tell me, Captain: which General do you serve under?"

"General Skywalker, ma'am."

Serra sighed, and rolled her eyes. "No why doesn't that surprise me?" She muttered, and then gestured for them to follow her.

"Right, then: if you're still on our side then you might wanna make your way to the roof. We're evacuating people from there, and they could really use the extra fire power."

The clones nodded and sprinted off, closely followed by the surviving Jedi Masters.

With a sigh, Serra headed off in the opposite direction to find the next clone to decapitate.

-  
And so the battle continued like this: even after the Temple caught fire the rescue team stayed in until the last minute.

Vader had left, with Anakin chasing him to the hanger bay, managing to attach a tracking beacon to the underside of his ship as it blasted out of there, before returning to see if there were any more survivors.

Up on the roof, Ahsoka waited anxiously, sensing the flames licking around the building and getting closer and closer the longer they waited.

Just as they were about to take off as they couldn't afford to wait any longer, nine dishevelled and sooty figures burst through the door, storm-troopers hot on their tail.

They sprinted for the nearest ship as the pilots of the other three ships took off, the fourth doing so even before the landing ramp was fully up.

The storm troopers fired after them, but the Jedi were already safely out of range.

Anakin Padme's apartment a little while later, and her look of relief at the sight of his sooty, sweaty but otherwise still in one piece face tugged at his heart.

"I'm fine," He said quickly before she could ask, and she nodded. "We got as many as we could out, but some need medical treatment. We're headed to neutral space where we can give them medical treatment on board these ships without too much interference. You need to get yourself out of there. I managed to attach a tracking beacon to Dexter's ship as he got away, so I'll follow that as soon as I can. Aeyla –"

"I'm going after Dex."

Anakin paused, and looked at her image for a long moment, before he nodded. "Be careful."

She nodded. "You too," She embraced Padme quickly before she left the apartment to head over to the Senate's hanger to steal a fast ship, determined not to let him get away. She was glad Anakin had managed to attach the tracker, as all she needed to do was follow it. Find the tracker, and she found her twin brother.

She just hoped there was still some of him left under all that darkness.

Coming out of hyperspace a short time later, Obi-Wan Kenobi docked on Senator Organa's shuttle, on which he could sense the venerable Grand Jedi Master, having gotten a call from the Senator saying where to meet them.

He quickly found Yoda and the Senator, and began a serious conversation with them.

"How many other Jedi have managed to survive?" He questioned, and Yoda shook his head sadly.

"Heard from no one, have we."

"I saw thousands of troopers attack the Jedi Temple," Organa added. "That's why I went looking for Yoda."

"Have we heard any contact from the Temple?" Obi-Wan questioned, his voice soft with fear and loss and worry for his fellow comrades.

"Received a coded retreat message, we have."

"It requests all Jedi to return to the Temple," Organa supplied. "It says the war is over."

"Well, then we must go back," Obi-Wan said, his eyes widening. "If there are any stragglers, they will fall into the trap and be killed!"

"Mm," Yoda mused. "Suggest dismantling the coded signal, do you?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "Yes master: there is too much at stake!"

"I agree. And a little more knowledge, might light our way."

Not too long later, the Senators craft was entering Coruscant's atmosphere, heading towards the Jedi Temple when they received a message from the Chancellor's Office, requesting the Senator's presence at a special session that the Chancellor had called, which made it easier for the two Jedi to enter the Temple.

Meanwhile on Mustafar, far across the galaxy, the leaders of the Separatist movement were being brutally slaughtered and cut down by the new Sith Lord…

Yoda and Obi-Wan managed to fight their way through the Clones who remained guarding the Temple, and quickly made their way to the now deserted situation room to review the holo-footage while the Chancellor assured the Senate that all Jedi would now be hunted down and killed for turning against the Republic, and renaming it the first Galactic Empire.

("So this is how liberty dies," Padme commented quietly to Bail, who was sitting next to her in the pod. "With thunderous applause.")

"I have recalibrated the Code, warning all surviving Jedi to stay away," Obi-Wan informed Yoda.

"For the Clones to discover the recalibration, a long time it will take," Yoda mused, and then they found the holo-footage, as Obi-Wan wanted to see what was happening, despite Yoda's warning that it would bring him nothing but pain.

Activating it, he felt his heart sink as he only saw what he had feared he would see: Anakin slaughtering the Jedi.

"It can't be…It can't be…"

The footage then skipped on. "You have done well, my new apprentice." The Chancellor said.

'Anakin's' back was turned to them in this footage, so Obi-Wan couldn't see his face.

"Now, Lord Vader, go and bring peace to the Empire."

"I can't watch anymore," Obi-Wan said, turning it off.

"Destroy the Sith, we must." Yoda said.

"Send _me_ to kill the Emperor," Obi-Wan stated. "I will not kill Anakin,"

"To fight this Lord Sidious, strong enough you are not."

"He is like my brother. _I cannot do it_!"

"Twisted by the dark side, young Skywalker has become. The boy you trained, gone he is. Consumed by Darth Vader."

"I do not know where the Emperor has sent him. I don't know where to look!"

"Use your feelings Obi-Wan, and find him you will,"

* * *

"So, you just thought it was me when you looked at the holo-footage?" Anakin asked, faintly disgusted as Obi-Wan continued his side of the story. "You didn't bother to look any closer?"

Obi-Wan shook his head miserably. "And Yoda was so sure that it was you who had turned."

"So what happened then?" Leia asked.

"I went to your mothers', as I knew then that she and you father were good friends – though I had suspected they were something more,"…

* * *

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"Yesterday."

"Do you know where he is now?"

"No." Which wasn't actually a lie: she didn't know where he was _at this very moment_.

"Padme, I need your help. He is in grave danger."

"From the Sith?"

If Obi-Wan was surprised that she knew about them, then he didn't let it show. "From himself. Padme…Anakin has turned to the Dark Side."

"You're wrong." She snapped. "How could you even say that?!"

"I have seen a security holo-gram," He choked out, unable to look into her eyes as he knew it would break her heart. However, all that he missed was disgust at his words. "Of him…killing younglings."

"Not Anakin!" She protested, wondering how he could be so stupid as to believe that. She herself had never met Anakin's brother, but surely the two couldn't look _that _alike! "He couldn't!"

Obi-Wan turned back towards her. "He was deceived by a lie – we all were! It appears that the Chancellor is behind everything, including the war!"

Padme was so tempted to tell him that she already knew all that, but she couldn't: it would only make Obi-Wan even more suspicious.

"Palpatine is the Sith Lord we've been looking for. After the death of Count Dooku, Anakin became his new apprentice."

Padme turned away, feeling her anxiety levels rise and trying desperately to lower them again. She couldn't believe what she was hearing! How could Obi-Wan, of all people, believe that her husband had turned to the Dark Side?!

"I don't believe you." She sank down onto her sofa, breathing heavily. "I can't."

"Padme," Obi-Wan said gently, sitting down next to her. "I _must _find him."

"You're going to kill him, aren't you?" Padme demanded, the truth suddenly dawning on her.

Obi-Wan hesitated. "He has become a very great threat."

Padme shook her head again. "I can't."

Obi-Wan rose to leave, but before he did he turned back to her one last time. "Anakin is the father, isn't he?" Padme looked away, but didn't say anything. "I'm so sorry."

And not just for the fact that her lover had apparently turned to the Dark Side. No, he was also sorry for what he was about to do…

Padme had had all of her luggage loaded onto her personal ship already, and, after a quick change of clothes into something more practical, she headed out to it.

"Mi'lady, let me come with you," Captain Typho begged, but Padme would have none of it. She was not going to jeopardise the surviving Jedi's security or safety by bringing along any extra passengers, even though she did trust Typho with her life.

"It's alright, there's no danger –the fighting's over, and this is personal." She assured him, and Typho sighed.

"As you wish, mi'lady, but I strongly disagree."

"I'll be alright Captain, but this is something I must do myself. Besides, 3PO will look after me."

Typho bowed low, "Be safe, mi'lady."

She nodded and gave him a quick, reassuring smile, before boarding her ship with C-3PO behind her.

Unseen by anyone, a third figure jumped up onto the boarding ramp from where he had been hiding, and boarded the ship behind them.

While Padme and 3PO readied the ship for take-off, Obi-Wan Kenobi wordlessly locked himself into a storage compartment; content to wait out the journey that he was sure would lead him to Anakin, even though Padme had said that she did not know where he was.

Aeyla landed her ship on Mustafar, and let out a weary sigh, running her hand agitatedly across her face and tugging on her long braid.

She looked up at the sight of movement outside her viewport, and saw her twin running down the walk-way over the roiling lava towards her.

She took a deep breath, and exited the ship.

Darth Vader raised an eyebrow at the sight of his twin sister walking down the ship's ramp. He hadn't seen her in a few months, and she was looking good – Tatooine for once must be doing her well.

"How did you find me?" He asked when she had come to a stop in front of him, but out of arms reach – not that he would need to be able to reach her should he need to dispose of her now that he had the Force.

"I followed you," She admitted. "Dex, what's going on?" Anakin said some _terrible _things…"

"_What_ did Anakin say?" He growled, and Aeyla looked him straight in the eyes, with no tears and no sign of fear at all.

"He said you'd turned to the Dark Side." She said flatly. "That's you've killed…_younglings_. Dex, how could you do this? This isn't you!"

Vader growled. "You would believe him over me?!" He yelled, and she raised an eyebrow, not intimidated by him in the slightest.

"You haven't told me anything." She pointed out, and he growled, stalked towards her and backhanded her hard across the face.

She stumbled back a step, her hand on her cheek and her eyes showing a flash of surprise at the unexpected blow.

"I have become more powerful than Anakin will ever be!" He yelled. "Don't you see? We don't have to run anymore – no one will enslave us ever again! I have brought peace to the Republic. I am more powerful than the Chancellor, I can overthrow him! And together you and I can rule the galaxy. Make things the way we want them to be!"

Aeyla shook her head, unable to believe what she was hearing. "You're insane." She snapped. "For Force _sake, _Dex, what's _happened_ to you? And don't you dare say you've become powerful, 'cause that's bull."

"But it's true." Her brother argued. "I am more powerful than any Jedi or Sith whoever lived!"

"And that's a lie if ever there was one." Aeyla muttered to herself with a sigh, and then met her brothers gaze again. "Alright, then: why did you do it? Why did you turn to the Dark Side?"

"I have brought peace and justice to the galaxy again!"

Aeyla rolled her vivid blue eyes, getting real tired of this whole 'I'm so great and powerful' spiel – it got _really_ boring, _really_ fast.

"Look, Dexter or Vader, or whatever the hell your name is: I don't care. I don't care if you think you're the most powerful person in the galaxy because, to be brutally honest, you're not." She stated bluntly. "You're not the most powerful being, nor will you ever be. You're a sad loser who couldn't bare the fact that his older brother was better than him when you were a child, and you've held onto that grudge. It's built up into frustration, and anger and hatred, and it isn't a good look – trust me. Now, you can either come back to the light, or this is going to get ugly."

Vader smirked. "Do you honestly think that you'd be any match for _me_? _Me_, the most powerful man in the galaxy, whose name star-systems will tremble in fear from?!"

"Yeah, that's just it," Aeyla drawled. "You said you're the most powerful _man_ in the galaxy – you didn't say anything about woman."

Vader let out a howl of rage and slashed at her with his blood-red lightsaber, but Aeyla was ready for him.

She leapt back and surprised him when she ignited a green blade of her own.

Yes, Aeyla Skywalker had a lightsaber, and she knew how to use it.

The Nabrynskis – and Anakin when he was around and not spending time with Padme – had, over the past few months, been teaching Aeyla how to fight with a lightsaber, as, should Dexter have been swayed by the Dark Side of the Force and the Sith, they knew she would be the one to want to go after him.

They had taught her enough that she felt fairly confident going up against her evil twin brother – and there really was no exaggeration in that statement now – even though she hadn't been at it for very long. She had already been skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and she would utilise that to the best of her ability in the coming battle…

* * *

"So, you were being taught the ways of the Force?" Obi-Wan asked, surprised, and Aeyla nodded.

"Yeah. Not so much the Force though – mainly lightsaber combat."

He nodded, still slightly shocked at the fact that the Jedi Council had not sensed a thing.

As if sensing his thoughts, Aeyla spoke up. "Since I wasn't really training in the Force, other Jedi wouldn't be able to pick up on the fact that I was being trained – or that I was around, really, because I knew how to mask my presence fairly well even back then. At first it was just having strong mental shields, but then Anakin showed me how to block my very presence, instead of just my thoughts." She shrugged. "It was a useful skill, especially since the Jedi didn't even know that I existed."

Obi-Wan nodded, completely understanding.

"So, what happened it the fight?" Luke asked eagerly. "Is that when he was so badly injured that he needed that life-support suit he wears now?"

Aeyla nodded, her eyes darkening with memories from the past. "Yes," She replied, "I –"

"Threw him into a pit of lava." Obi-Wan said, and Aeyla looked at him in surprise.

"Yes. How – how did you know that?"

"Because I saw it?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Explain."

He sighed, and ran a hand through his grey hair. "Well, as you know, I had stowed away in Padme's ship. However, I didn't realise that it was not in fact Vader she was going to, but the surviving Jedi."

"The how did you now know about them?" Luke asked, confused, and Obi-Wan shook his head.

"I'm getting to that," He assured him. "Anyway, she stopped off to refuel, even though she had left with a full tank.

"It turns out that someone had purposefully sabotaged her craft, because she was ambushed at the fuelling station,"…

* * *

Padme turned round to head back to her ship after paying for her fuel, a frown etching her brow.

She _knew_ that she had had the tank filled up before they left, so why hadn't they been able to get very far?

She gasped, and fell to the ground as a blaster bolt came out of nowhere and struck her…

Having sensed the danger, Obi-Wan had burst from his hiding place and had just made it to the top of the ramp on time to see Padme crumple to the floor: unconscious.

Cursing, he sprinted down the ramp as an armoured bounty-hunter strolled towards her, obviously thinking that there was no one else around.

It wasn't a mistake he was ever going to be making again.

He screamed in agony as his outstretched arm that held the blaster about to put a fatal bolt in the pretty little senator's pretty little head suddenly fell to the ground, severed at his shoulder by the humming blue blade of a Jedi's lightsaber.

Obi-Wan grabbed hold of the man's shirt collar and hauled him back up to his feet from where he had crumpled in agony to his knees.

"Who hired you?" He demanded, his blade held at the man's throat. "Tell me!"

"The-the chancellor." The man gasped, and Obi-Wan growled. Of course. The Chancellor – or, should he say, the _Emperor_.

Now, usually it was not the Jedi way to kill an unarmed prisoner, but Obi-Wan needed to get out of here and Padme needed medical attention, and he needed to witnesses to the fact that they had been here – especially if Padme now had a bounty out on her head by order of the Chancellor, and it was clearly an order to kill in sight, if this disgusting man was anything to go by.

Closing his eyes, Obi-Wan sliced the unnamed hunter's head from his body, and then hurried over to Padme.

He quickly checked her vital signs: her breathing was shallow, and her heartbeat was there, but very weak.

He scooped her up in his arms, and sprinted for the shuttle, mindful of her swollen stomach.

He left 3PO and the medical droid in charge of her, before heading out to Polis Massa, where there was a top-of –the-range medical facility that was, thankfully, neutral, where Senator Organa and Master Yoda had been going to rendezvous.

He had sense Yoda's battle with Sidious through the Force, and he knew that the Grand Master had escaped with his life and was now heading to where Obi-Wan himself needed to be – and he needed to get there fast, as he wasn't sure how much time Padme had left to her. It wasn't a particularly fatal blow that she had received, but he knew nothing about delivering a child, and if she went into labour because of shock or stress or anxiety sooner than she was due…well. Obi-Wan just hoped they reached the medical facility on time.

The ship was hurtling through hyperspace, and Obi-Wan Kenobi was deep in meditation.

He reached out not to Anakin, but to the Darkness he felt instead.

He was jolted in his seat as a vision suddenly came to him, of an evil 'Anakin' standing on a piece of machinery that was floating on a river of lave, with a young woman standing on the bank opposite him, her brown hair tied back in a braid that was coming loose from what had clearly been a fight between her and Vader, and her tanned face was haggard and sooty.

"_It's over, Vader!" She yelled at the dark figure standing before her. "I have the high ground!" She spread her arms to indicate the bank on which she stood._

"_You underestimate my power," Vader growled, and she shook her head, knowing what he would do next._

"_Don't try it." She warned, but he didn't listen._

_With an almighty Force push, Vader launched himself into the air, flipping over the woman's head with the obvious intention to land behind her._

_However, as he flipped over her, the woman ignited a green lightsaber and slashed at him, slicing his legs off cleanly. Vader let out a howl of agony and rage as he tumbled back down to the river below, stopping just at the edge of the bank and moaning in agony._

_He looked up at her with sithly yellow eyes as she attached her lightsaber to her belt again, her eyes full of sorrow as if she hadn't wanted it to be like this._

"_You were never meant to join the Sith!" She yelled at him, while he scrambled at the gravel with a clearly wounded hand. "You could have been happy! You could have seen your family grow, and been there for them!_

"_But instead you threw that all away! You're pathetic, Vader! You're pathetic, and I hope you realise now just how badly you've lost!"_

_She turned away and began walking up the embankment, her shoulders slumped like she was carrying a great weight upon them._

"_I HATE YOU!" Vader screamed at her, and she turned back, her eyes full of sorrow as she watched him struggle on the river bank. "I HATE YOU!"_

"_You were my brother!" She yelled back. "I loved you like a brother!"_

_As she watched, a flame caught on the end of Vader's amputated leg, and soon spread across the rest of his body while he howled in agony._

_She continued to watch as he burned for a few moments, a single tear slipping down her cheek, before she turned and walked away…_

Obi-Wan gasped as his eyes flew open, shocked out of his meditation as the vision ended.

What in the Universe was that?

He didn't have time to ponder it now, however, as the hyper-computer chirruped, signalling that they had arrived.

Taking manual control of the ship once more, 3PO pulled them out of hyperspace and flew them down onto the asteroids medical facility.

Obi-Wan carried Padme down the ramp and was met by Senator Organa, who led the way to the delivery room.

* * *

"So you had a vision of my fight with Vader – well, the end of it at least?" Aeyla amended, and Obi-Wan nodded.

"Yes," He answered. "Then, at the medical facility, Padme gave birth – first to you, Luke, and then to you, Leia. After that, I thought she had died." Here he saw Anakin's scowl, but he didn't say anything.

"Then, it was decided that it would be better if the twins were separated," Obi-Wan continued. "It was Master Yoda's idea – he thought that it was the best thing for them, as well as protecting them from the Empire.

"Leia, Senator Organa said he would raise you, as they had always talked about adopting a little girl, as the Queen was barren. Luke, Yoda said that I was to take you to your family on Tatooine, where I said I would watch over you."

Here he paused, coming to the end of his story.

"So…you never came to the conclusion yourself that Dad was Vader?" Leia asked slowly. "Yoda told you?"

Obi-Wan frowned, and then nodded, realising that what she said was true. "Yes, I suppose so. But, watching that footage, I saw what I had feared I would see." He shot an apologetic look at Anakin, who just shrugged it off. "So…what did actually happen to Padme?"

"She fell into a coma," Anakin replied, sitting back in his seat from where he had been leant forwards with his elbows resting on her knees. "I sensed where she was, so me, Serra and Ahsoka left for there as soon as we could while the others scouted out a place where we could lay low for the next who knew how long."

He sighed deeply. "She awoke not long after we arrived, and was heartbroken when she heard that you had taken her children away with you when you left. Why did you leave her body there if you thought she was dead, by the way?"

"I was going to drop Senator Organa back at his home and then bring Luke to your step-brother first. I had planned to return for her the next day as they said they would prepare her body for burial – you know, clean her wounds and the like – but when I arrived I was informed that her body had already been taken."

Anakin nodded. "That was us. We took her with us when she was still in a coma – which the medics did know about, by the way. It was just you who didn't – and she woke up on the trip back to meet up with the others. At first she was devastated, but then she was furious, as she couldn't believe you had believed I had turned, and that you had taken her children." He was silent for a moment, a slight smile gracing his lips as he thought back to his wife talking animatedly about her plans for the baby's room back on Naboo, and how she would go early to fix it up… "She was so excited about that baby," He said softly. "Of course, we didn't know we were going to have twins back then, but, once she stopped worrying about what the Queen would do and the Jedi Council if they found out I was the father, she was so happy."

Obi-Wan sighed. "I am truly sorry, Anakin," He said honestly. "If I had known…"

Anakin gave him a soft smile. "It's alright, Master. Besides – it looks like a lot of the blame is actually meant to be on Yoda, which I'm sure Padme will be interested to hear."

Aeyla chuckled. "Oh yeah," She remarked. "What did he say when you told him you hadn't actually found Vader?"

"He was alright with it when he saw how bad Padme was. And he was confused when I told him about my vision"…

* * *

"A vision, you say?" Yoda questioned, after asking Obi-Wan if he had found Anakin.

"Yes, Master." Obi-Wan replied. "I knew Padme needed medical attention, so, while we were coming here, I decided to meditate to see if I could feel Vader's presence and perhaps find out where he was."

"In this vision, happened what did?"

"There was a young woman with him, standing on a bank next to a river of lava," He thought for a moment. "It looked like Mustafar,"

Yoda nodded, having sensed a great disturbance in the Force there earlier, like many had been killed by an evil being at once.

"Vader was standing on what looked like a piece of machinery on the river, and they had clearly just had a fight. She had the high ground, though, and, when he attempted to get over her, she sliced off his legs."

"This woman, who was she?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "I don't know, Master – I've never seen her before."

Yoda nodded, and gestured for him to continue. "Anyway, she was saying something about how he shouldn't have turned to the Dark Side, and how he could have watched his family grow and been there for them, had he not, and how he had thrown all that away by siding with the Sith. He was then yelling that he hated her, and then…then she said that she loved him like a brother, and…Master, then he caught fire. If he did survive that encounter, he did not survive in intact."

Yoda nodded. "Survive, he did." He said quietly. "But happen, these events did. Discover who this woman is, we must."

Obi-Wan sighed. "Is that really a priority right now, Master?" He dared to ask. After all, it wasn't like everything was like it used to be: they had no Republic to back them up now, and they had more important things to do – like deal with the twins and hiding them from the Emperor and his apprentice. "I mean, she doesn't appear to be a threat to us – if anything, she's on our side."

Yoda sighed, but gave a reluctant nod, seeing the truth in his words…

* * *

The explanations had taken most of the day, with a quick break for lunch, and now everyone headed back to their respective places to stay, feeling considerably less confused than they had been before.

And less angry at Obi-Wan. Anakin planned to tell his wife everything that Obi-Wan had told him, and he hoped that that would perhaps sway her anger even a little bit off of his former master – even if it meant transferring git onto Yoda, as his had done (though not all of it).

* * *

**Well, there you have it: chapter five. Please me some reviews letting me know what you think, and I'll get the next chapter up when I do.**

**AN: Sorry if there are some words missed out, but when I was editing the chapter on this website before posting it, I noticed that it had deleted some phrases and words here and there. I got the ones that I saw as I skim-read, but I probably missed some - and I know I did in previous chapters as well. Sorry again, but I can't help it.**


End file.
